Residents of the Alexandrian district of Tosson commemorated on Wednesday the 100th day anniversary of their sit-in in front of the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters in Cairo. Protestors are demanding the government allow them to return to their lands from which they were expelled to make room for tourist facilities.
The protesters chanted and distributed fliers detailing the history of their 27-month struggle with the government. They claim they they have received no official response even after staging more than 50 protests.
Ashrat Abed, the official spokesperson for the group, said he had invited all of Egypt’s political parties to the celebration, but not a single party leader attended. According to Abed, Wafd Party Chairman Sayyed el-Badawi and Karama Party founder and parliamentary deputy Hamdeen Sabahi sent representatives on their behalf.
Abed announced that the Tosson residents were submitting a report documenting their grievances to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) office in Cairo.
“International human rights organizations are our last resort in the face of government indifference to our demands,” said Abed.
For her part, the group’s lawyer, Wafaa el-Misri, said the Supreme Administrative Court has issued a ruling declaring the Agriculture Ministry’s seizure of the land to be unlawful. She added that the Ministry has violated the ruling by issuing an order to expel Tosson’s residents and demolish their houses.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
