Egypt protest: Crowds gather for big anti-Morsi rally
BBC News online -- 29 June 2013
Egyptian protesters fill Tahrir Square ahead of mass rally
Crowds
are gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square ahead of a mass rally to demand
the resignation of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
Sunday is the first anniversary of Mr Morsi's inauguration as president.
Tensions has been high ahead of the rally. At least three people, including a US citizen, died in unrest on Friday.
Washington has warned Americans not to travel to Egypt.
The UK urged its citizens to "avoid all demonstrations and large gatherings" while France said citizens should "limit movements to those strictly necessary".
Protesters are unhappy with the policies of the Islamist president and his Muslim Brotherhood allies.
Thousands of supporters of Mr Morsi, who was elected by a small margin, rallied in the capital on Saturday.
US President Barack Obama has said America is "looking with concern" at the situation.
Obama appeal
Mohammed Morsi's first year
- June 2012 - Narrowly wins presidential election. Orders parliament to meet in defiance of a military decree dissolving it
- July 2012 - Submits to a Supreme Court ruling that the parliamentary elections were invalid
- August 2012 - Dismisses Defence Minister Hussein Tantawi and Chief of Staff Sami Annan, and strips military of say in legislation and drafting the new constitution
- November 2012 - Rescinds a decree stripping the judiciary of the right to challenge his decisions, after popular protests
- December 2012 - Public vote approves draft constitution boosting the role of Islam and restricting freedom of speech and assembly
- March 2013 - Court halts his plans to bring parliamentary elections forward to April, citing failure to refer the electoral law to the Constitutional Court
- June 2013 - Puts Islamists in charge of 13 of Egypt's 27 governorships - controversially he appoints a member of the former armed group Gamaa Islamiya to be governor of Luxor
Opposition activists say more
than 22 million people have signed a petition seeking a snap election.
They have urged the signatories to come out on Tahrir on Sunday.
Amr Riad, 26, told Reuters news agency: "We're peaceful but if those who come at us are violent we'll defend ourselves."
Speaking in South Africa, Mr Obama urged "all parties to make sure they are not engaging in violence and that police and military are showing appropriate restraint".
"We would like to see the opposition and President Morsi engage in a more constructive conversation about [how] to move their country forward," he said.
Reports say that Cairo International Airport has been unusually busy as both expatriates and Egyptians leave the country.
On Friday, US national Andrew Pochter and another man were killed in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria as protesters stormed an office of the Muslim Brotherhood.
This undated photo provided by his family shows Andrew Pochter
His family said in a statement that he had been stabbed by a protester while observing demonstrations.
The other fatality in Alexandria on Friday was an Egyptian man who was shot dead, according to medical sources.Another man, said to be a journalist, was killed by an explosion in Port Said and five other people were injured.
President Morsi earlier this week offered a dialogue - a move rejected by his opponents.
Mr Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, became Egypt's first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair.
His first year as president has been marred by constant political unrest and a sinking economy.
Labels: Conflict, Economy, Egypt, Islamism, Muslim Brotherhood, Societal Failures
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, June 30, 2013
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