Image of the Day

We received this report from Cairo, written last week just after the
big November 27 th demonstration. While it was being written, several
thousands of demonstrators were still in Tahrir Square after the big
demonstration of 27 th . Hundreds of thousands had gathered in this square,
the symbol of the Egyptian Revolution, shouting “Revolution”, “Oust the
murshid government” (murshid is the supreme leader of the Muslim
Brotherhood).
A demonstrator in the square told us: “Shoes are ready to fly for the
president”. This was a reference to the Middle Eastern custom of taking
off one's shoes and throwing them to display disapproval and disdain, in
the same manner that protestors threw shoes when Mubarak announced he
would not resign. The banners welcoming us in the square read: “The
Muslim Brotherhood are traitors”, “Entry forbidden to Ikhawan” (Arabic
for “Brothers”) and “The president is pushing the people towards a general
strike”.
Rallies numbering tens of thousands of people started out from every
neighbourhood of Cairo to reach the square. The march from the workingclass
area of Shubra was particularly large. Almost all sectors of society
got involved: there were marches of the lawyers' trade union, and the
artists'. Even the judiciary has announced mass resignations to protest
against the “tyranny” – this is how they define the Morsi government –
which reveals the widespread malaise existing in society.
The protest
The protest erupted seven days ago against the decree presented by
Morsi (November 22nd) by which the Egyptian president has concentrated
wide powers in his hands. The justification put forward is the “defence of
the revolution”. The opposite, of course, is true. But it is the usual excuse
which is often used in this country to sanction an unpopular policy. The
protests have included many clashes between the demonstrators (three
dead so far) and the police who have used the same tear gas used by the
SCAF, as a reminder of the real scent of this “democracy”.
The use of teargas was so heavy as to make it impossible to breathe
even inside the Sadat metro station, the one in Midan Tahrir. Last night the
clashes were particularly violent. The opposition's reaction to the decree