Middle East
'Mega protest' planned in Egypt
Opposition movement calls for one "million people demonstration" on Tuesday in
a bid to topple president Hosni Mubarak.
Last Modified: 31 Jan 2011 07:19 GMT
Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei spoke to protesters at Tahrir
Square in Cairo on Sunday [Reuters]
Egyptian protesters have called for a massive demonstration on Tuesday in a bid
to force out president Hosni Mubarak from power.
The so-called April 6 Movement said it plans to have more than a million people
on the streets of the capital Cairo, as anti-government sentiment reaches a
fever pitch.
Several hundred demonstrators remained camped out in Tahrir square in central
Cairo early on Monday morning, defying a curfew that has been extended by the
army.
"It seems as if they are saying: 'We are here to stay. We are re-invigorating
our movement and we are not going anywhere'," one of Al Jazeera's
correspondents in Cairo said.
Protesters seem unfazed by Mubarak's pledge to institute economic and political
reforms. Our correspondent said that people feel that such pledges "are too
little, too late".
Early on Monday morning, unconfirmed reports said the police had been ordered
back on the streets.
"We are expecting a statement by the minister of interior about whether the
police are going to return or not," our correspondent said.
"The absence of police has given looters a free rein, forcing ordinary citizens
to set up neighbourhood patrols. Many people are wondering where the police
disappeared to.
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"There are two schools of thought as far as the police are concerned: One is
that many of them decided to join the protesters. The other is that the regime
was saying to the people, 'You want to protest. We'll pull back the police and
you feel what anarchy feels like'," our correspondent said.
A day earlier, Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition figure, joined thousands
of protesters in Tahrir Square.
The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency told the crowd on
Sunday night that "what we have begun cannot go back" referring to days of
anti-government protests.
The National Coalition for Change, which groups several opposition movements
including the Muslim Brotherhood, wants ElBaradei to negotiate with the Mubarak
government.
"The people want the regime to fall," protesters chanted as ElBaradei walked to
the centre of the square, holding hands with some demonstrators.
Jail breaks
The show of continued defiance by the people came on a day when air force
fighter planes flew low over Cairo along with helicopters and extra troop
lorries appeared in the central square.
As the protests continue, security is said to be deteriorating and reports have
emerged of several prisons across the country being attacked and of fresh
protests being staged in cities like Alexandria and Suez.
Thirty-four leaders from the Muslim Brotherhood were freed from the Wadi
Natroun jail after guards abandoned their posts.
The protesters in Cairo, joined by hundreds of judges, had gathered earlier in
Tahrir Square in the afternoon to demand the resignation of Mubarak.
Al Jazeera's correspondent, reporting from the scene, said that demonstrators
confronted a fire truck, at which point army troops fired into the air in a bid
to disperse them.
He said the protesters did not move back, and a tank commander then ordered the
fire truck to leave. When the truck moved away from the square, the thousands
of protesters erupted into applause and climbed onto the tank in celebration,
hugging soldiers.
Main roads in Cairo have been blocked by military tanks and armoured personnel
carriers, and large numbers of army personnel have been seen in other cities as
well.
Our correspondent said that extra military roadblocks had been set up in an
apparent attempt to divert traffic away from Tahrir Square, which has become a
focal point for demonstrators.
"It's still a very tense scene to have so much military in the capital city of
the country."
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