13 - 19 September 2001
Issue No.551
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 13 - 19 September 2001 Issue No.551 |
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Message to 'the castle'
Demonstrators condemning the US administration for its support for Israel were prevented from reaching the American embassy in the heart of Cairo. They got their message across, nevertheless. Khaled Dawoud joined the crowd
The presence of hundreds of policemen and dozens of trucks carrying anti-riot police in full gear at Tahrir Square, in the heart of Cairo, early Monday indicated that something unusual was happening or about to happen. Indeed, the Egyptian Popular Committee in Solidarity with the Intifada (EPCSPI) had called for a "peaceful" demonstration starting outside Mugamma' El-Tahrir, a government office complex, and heading for the nearby American Embassy to hand officials there a letter of protest. The rare protest drew nearly 1,000 persons.
Labour Party leader, Ibrahim Shoukri, 83, chanting "Palestine is Arab" during the unprecedented demonstration in Tahrir Square on Monday
photo Ayman Ibrahim
Although walking from the Mugamma' to the US embassy does not usually take more than three minutes, the heavy police presence and cordons made it impossible to negotiate this short distance.
Moreover, the US embassy, a heavily- guarded building that many Egyptians refer to as "the castle," is off-limits to any protests, said a security official. The Americans -- in cooperation with Egyptian security -- have cordoned off the embassy in such a way that it would be impossible for anybody to attempt to force themselves in. But for security men, taking any sort of risk is unjustifiable.
Another nightmare for security officials is that Tahrir Square is home to five star-hotels, the Egyptian Museum, the American University in Cairo (AUC) and the Arab League. At the time of the protest, Arab foreign ministers were meeting at the league's headquarters.
For the EPCSPI, the choice of Tahrir Square could only mean that it hoped to attract the largest possible number of sympathisers. Nearly all Egyptians are outraged by the daily Israeli attacks on Palestinians they witness on television. With all the pent-up frustration and feelings of anger harboured by Egyptians, the last thing security officials wanted to see was a large demonstration. Although police did their best to curtail the number of protesters, thousands of government employees working at the Mugamma' stood in their windows to watch what was happening below. Dozens of AUC students, who previously staged several pro-Palestinian demonstrations, stood on the roof of the main campus building in a show of sympathy.
Even before demonstrators were supposed to assemble at 1pm on Monday, plain-clothes policemen did the rounds in front of the Mugamma', asking bystanders to produce their identity cards and inquiring why they were hanging around there. If it seemed like they were going to take part in the protest, they were asked to leave.
But the EPCSPI organisers, mostly leftists who have a long experience in demonstrator-versus-police tactics, were also well prepared. Suddenly, a group of around 50 people came together, stood near the Mugamma' and immediately started shouting anti-Israeli and anti-US slogans. Policemen quickly rushed to disperse them, but it was too late.
Kamal Khalil, a well-known leftist activist and leader of demonstrations since the 1970s, out-manoeuvred police and ran in circles until he reached a small square garden in front of the Mugamma' and started the famous chant "Palestine is Arab." Hundreds of anti-riot police rushed to the scene and quickly encircled the protesters. Trouble started when new groups of demonstrators started arriving -- late -- at Tahrir Square. Anti-riot police would not allow the new-comers to join their colleagues, and several scuffles broke out between the two sides. But leaders of nearly all political currents -- from leftists to Islamists -- who were present at Tahrir Square stepped in and negotiated with police, seeking to expand the circle of protesters. Eventually, a deal was reached allowing for the expansion and also for a small delegation of EPCSPI members, but not all protesters, to head to the US embassy and try to meet with its officials to hand them the protest letter, addressed to US President George W Bush, and carrying more than 1,000 signatures. US embassy officials refused to let the delegation inside and sent a senior diplomat out to take the letter from them. "The EPCSPI and all the undersigned believe that the barbaric Israeli suppression of the Palestinian Intifada would not have reached these dimensions but for the strong support the United States has been providing to the Israeli occupation authorities," the letter said. "Arab anger against this American hostility to Arab interests and aspirations cannot but express itself in positions and actions that would not spare US interests."
Nearly half an hour after the protest started, a group of 100 young men made a dramatic entrance into the protest area encircled by police. They marched in pairs military-style, raising high copies of the Holy Qur'an. The young men were clearly members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, which has cut a high profile at public demonstrations of solidarity with the Intifada.
Brotherhood leaders at Tahrir Square quickly promised police officers that they would leave in peace and that they had no intention of inciting clashes. But the slogans Brotherhood members chanted, such as "Jihad is our path" and "Palestine is Islamic," threatened to dived the demonstrators themselves. Leftists and Nasserists rushed to prominent Brotherhood figure Essam El-Eryan, urging him to calm his followers. Secretary-general of the leftist Tagammu Party, Rifaat El-Said, was also there, and in what could be a first, hugged and kissed El-Eryan to confirm unity among Egyptians when it comes to the Palestinian cause. The whole atmosphere became emotional after 83-year-old Ibrahim Shoukri personally led the protest, chanting against Israel and the United States.
Protesters raised Palestinian flags, pictures of children killed by US- made weapons and Arabic and English banners branding Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a war criminal. "Americans, your government sells weapons that kill our children," said one banner hoisted by a heavily veiled woman in English. Burning the US and Israeli flags, the demonstrators shouted slogans such as "Bush is killing our children." They also called for the closure of the Israeli embassy in Cairo and ousting the Israeli ambassador.
Other slogans reflected the newly- acquired popularity with Egyptians of radical groups such as the Lebanese Hizbullah and the Palestinian Hamas. "Hizbullah: you are our beloved. Go ahead and strike Tel Aviv," was a slogan shouted repeatedly. Speakers lashed out at Israel for its policy of assassinating top Palestinian activists, and one banner said, "Assassinating Palestinian leaders is worse than Nazi crimes."
In line with the agreement between opposition leaders and police, demonstrators started dispersing peacefully. Yet, a group of nearly 50 leftist and Nasserist protesters, upon reaching the other side of Tahrir Square, revived the slogan chants. Police considered that action a breach of the deal and anti-riot police were immediately deployed to disperse the protesters. Policemen were seen beating up a number of them, but that ended quickly. No arrests were made.
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