A heavy police presence guarded the Egyptian Embassy in Central London on Saturday, as hundreds of protestors gathered outside to support the mass demonstrations in Egypt and to call for an end to the Mubarak regime.
Protests at the Embassy have been gaining momentum since Tuesday, and organisers estimated there were around 800 people gathered on Saturday. Numbers swelled when they were joined by student demonstrators who had been protesting government cuts and rising tuition fees in the UK. About 200 broke away from the planned route and, dodging police, marched to the embassy in solidarity with Egyptians.
The narrow street was full to bursting and the protest spilled out into adjoining roads. Using loudspeakers, the demonstration's leaders shouted “Down with Mubarak!”, “What’s the Solution? Revolution!” and other slogans in Arabic and English that were echoed by the crowd. As news spread that Omar Sulaiman had been appointed Vice-President, people began chanting “Out out Sulaiman, we don’t want you either!”
Rafik Badeir, one of the organisers of the protest, explained that word had spread through text messages and emails. “We think the turn out has been very good… It’s a group from all sorts of walks of life and political and religious affiliations who have been able to come together in solidarity with what’s happening in Egypt. It’s the least we can do in support of what’s going on,” he said.
“We think it does make a difference, it’s the only way we have of focussing the media in the UK and other places on the fact that Egyptians everywhere are supporting what’s happening there. We would like a change of regime and we would like people to intervene to defend and protect the people who, from what we hear today, are possibly being massacred on the streets,” added Badeir.
This message has not been taken up by Western leaders, who are yet to withdraw their support for Mubarak. In a statement issued on Saturday, British Foreign Sectary William Hague talked of the “legitimate grievances” of Egyptians and expressed “deep concern” at the levels of violence. However, despite calling for reform and restraint, Hague continues to support Mubarak’s presidency. He said: “President Mubarak spoke last night of his commitment to take new steps towards greater democracy and freedom for the citizens. We call on him now to listen urgently to the aspirations expressed by the Egyptian people. He must seize this moment to make these reforms real and visible and to base them on the universal values that are the right of people in all countries.”
The International Organization for Migration estimates there are around 35,000 Egyptians residing in the UK. Many have been glued to news of the events unfolding in Egypt in amazement and disbelief, and those who joined the demonstrations are desperate to show their solidarity and be a part of the ‘Days of Rage’.
However, the patchy and unclear information coming out of Egypt is worrying for people who have relatives there. Jasmine Abdel-Halim, who carried an anti-Mubarak placard, explained that she had not heard from any of her family in Cairo for four days. “I’m excited because I think its revolution time, people have been oppressed for too long and its time to stand up. But at the same time its really scary, we’ve been cut off from our families…. No email, no phone, and we just want to know if they’re alright,” she said.
The student demonstrators who joined the Embassy protest in solidarity are very much engaged with events in Tunisia and Egypt. It has become a rallying call for young activists who align themselves with the people power that is taking off in the Arab streets. Ed Maltby, a student and socialist, said: “We’ve come because there’s a revolution going on in Egypt and we want to give maximum support to it… Everyone is extremely excited by what’s happening there, and we want to pledge maximum solidarity with the Egypt workers’ movement.” Other demonstrators carried placards with slogans such as “Walk Like An Egyptian” and “Solidarity With Egypt”, showing the extend to which young people identify with and are inspired by the actions and courage of the Egyptian people.
London is not the only city seeing mass solidarity movements: protests have been held in capitals across the world, from Ottawa to Paris.
