Roughly two dozen activists from various opposition groups staged demonstrations on Tuesday in front of Egypt's Supreme Court in downtown Cairo to show solidarity with the five Egyptian men who recently set themselves on fire to protest deteriorating living conditions. Demonstrators waved both Egyptian and Tunisian flags.
“These recent attempts at self-immolation come as warnings to the government about our crumbling social and economic circumstances,” said Karima al-Henawy, member of the Kefaya pro-democracy movement. She called on Egypt's ruling regime to step down before the eruption of a popular revolution.
“Those who set themselves alight were even more frustrated than those Egyptians to have drowned at sea while making illegal attempts at emigration in an effort to find employment overseas,” said Yasser al-Hawary, spokesman for the Justice and Freedom Movement.
Nour al-Hoda Zaki, member of Egypt's Women for Change Movement, meanwhile, rejected reports that one of the recent attempted suicides had suffered from psychological problems. “The government is trying to downplay the incident,” she said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
