More than 1000 people gathered in the hastily planned Tahrir Square protests Friday, in response to earlier clashes on Tuesday and Wednesday between a protesters and Central Security Forces (CSF).
After the earlier violence left more than 1000 people injured, activists and protesters once again dug in, planning to camp out in the square in protest of the security response and in solidarity with martyrs’ families who are pressing for speedier trials of former officials.
The 6 April Movement, along with the Coalition of Revolutionary Groups and the Justice and Freedom Movement (not to be confused with the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party) also organized a march from Tahrir to the cabinet offices on Qasr al-Aini Street at 4pm. Some present claimed it would be the beginning of a sit-in until mass protests planned for 8 July. However, most agreed that they would probably disband for the week and return to the square the following Friday.
“We’re putting aside the ‘Constitution First’ slogan and replacing it with, ‘The Martyrs First’ for this protest,” said Tarek al-Kholy, the spokesman for 6 April. Kholy said that the “barbaric treatment” of protesters by CSF on Tuesday drove them to set up a tent and stage the rally today.
Hundreds marched toward the cabinet offices, a small group broke off and continued toward the Interior Ministry, but they were thwarted by military police who prevented them from getting too close to the ministry gates. While some fear that continued protests could split public opinion and leave more people against the revolutionary groups, others have joined in, encouraging them to push change along.
“I only started coming after the protests where the military attacked Tahrir (9 April), since then I go to every event,” said Sayyed, a 43 year-old taxi driver.
Many martyrs’ families attended the rally and spoke at the podium erected on the east side of the square, which was closed to traffic Friday.
“They keep tricking us and telling us that they are investigating and that the martyrs are heroes of the revolution. I don’t want all of that talk. I want them to actually do something. I want justice for my son,’ exclaimed a woman who identified herself as the mother of the late Mostafa Shaker, but declined to give her first name.
A number of the families of those killed or injured complained that the government had not aided them in paying medical or burial expenses or indicated whether their deceased relatives’ killers would be tried.
“If it wasn’t for the martyrs, change wouldn’t be happening in the country. The government lauds the change and pretends to be with the revolution, but treats those who actually sacrificed for the revolution terribly,” said Khaled Qotb, whose son Mahmoud recently passed away from injuries sustained on 28 January.
Twenty-three-year-old Mahmoud Qotb was shot in the face with a shot gun and then run over by a police vehicle. Khaled Qotb said he never received a response to the case he filed with the public prosecutor, and that he relied on donations and sympathetic doctors to help cover his son’s expenses for the five months he was hospitalized until his death on 27 June.
“Now all I have left is to demand justice for my son, and change for the country, that’s why I’m out here today,” he said.
Protesters say the 8 July demonstration is still on.
“We consider today a promotion for 8 July, we are hoping more people come out for that,” Kholy said.
