Mubarak dictatorship kills Egyptians

This video is called Egypt police fire tear gas as rioting erupts in Cairo.

From the BBC:

25 January 2011 Last updated at 20:55 GMT

Egypt protests: Three reported dead in ‘day of revolt’

At least three people have been killed during a day of RARE anti-government protests in Egypt, reports say.

In Cairo, where the biggest rallies were held, state TV said a policeman had died in clashes. Two protesters died in Suez, doctors there said.

Thousands joined the protests after an internet campaign inspired by the uprising in Tunisia.

In Cairo, police used tear gas and water cannon in an attempt to disperse the crowds.

Activists had called for a “day of revolt” in a web message. Protests are uncommon in Egypt, which President Hosni Mubarak has ruled since 1981, tolerating little dissent.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her administration supported “the fundamental right of expression and assembly” and urged all parties “to exercise restraint”.

She added that Washington believed the Egyptian government was “stable” and “looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people”.

What a touching naivity of Ms Clinton [sarcasm off]. Considering that Ms Clinton considers Italian corrupt autocrat Silvio Berlusconi to be her “best friend” … and Uzbek dictator Karimov, notorious for boiling people alive, also a very good friend … and just deposed Tunisian dictator Ben Ali a very good friend until the people drove him to Saudi Arabia … it is not really surprising that Egypt’s torturing and murderous dictator Mubarak is a friend of Ms Clinton as well.

The events in Cairo were co-ordinated on a Facebook page – tens of thousands of supporters clicked on the page to say they would take part.

Reports said the social networking site Twitter had been blocked in Egypt and that mobile phone networks in the Cairo area were down.

The Swedish-based website Bambuser, which streams video from mobile phones, said it had been blocked in Egypt. On its blog, it accused Egyptian officials of trying to control the news agenda.

The BBC’s Jon Leyne in Cairo said rallies had been held in several parts of the capital, and the turnout had been more than the organisers could have hoped.

Police were taken aback by the anger of the crowd and let protesters make their way to the parliament building, he says.

There police regrouped in full riot gear with tear gas and water cannon and temporarily drove the crowd back. However, protesters threw stones and stood their ground, pushing the police back until they were on the run.

Protests also broke out in other areas, including the eastern city of Ismailiya and the northern port city of Alexandria.

In Alexandria, witnesses said thousands joined the protests, some chanting: “Revolution, revolution, like a volcano, against Mubarak the coward.”

From RFI English radio:

Egypt: Protesters Say Tunisia is the Solution

25 January 2011

Thousands of Egyptians defied their government to join protests Tuesday. Police fired teargas and attacked protesters, demonstrators told RFI of being beaten by police.

“The security forces have been beating the protesters. I myself I’ve been beaten up,” says protester Mohamed Hamama, whose hand was injured by police in Mansoura city.

“People are trying to get through the cordons,” he adds. “We don’t know what’s next. The security forces are very aggressive against us, some people have been arrested.”

He estimates there are at least 15,000 protesters in Mansoura, which is some 100 kilometres north of the capital Cairo.

In Cairo, there are protesters of all ages, according to protester Mohammed Rahhal.

“We know that what’s happening is wrong and we’re asking for the end of the actions of the regime and of the brutality of the emergency laws,” Rahhal told RFI. “A lot of people are on their first demonstration, which is really, really heart-warming.”

Inspired by the example of Tunisian uprising, they chanted lines from Tunisian poet Abul Qassem Al-Shabi: “If, one day, a people desires to live, then fate will answer their call.

“And their night will then begin to fade, and their chains break and fall.”

In Cairo, demonstrators marched towards the central Tahrir Square and down the Corniche, chanting “Down with Mubarak”. President Hosni Mubarak has been in power for three decades.

Some 20,000 to 30,000 police are deployed in the capital Cairo, as protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court with large signs that read “Tunisia is the solution”.

People are calling for Mubarak to leave the country, for freedom, social justice, an end to corruption and better salaries.

“At the beginning it was relatively under control and the police didn’t intervene,” says correspondent Alexandre Buccianti. “And then when the number had grown the police intervened with water canons and tear gas. People are still chanting and the police are firing tear gas.”

The Interior Ministry has warned that it would deal “firmly” with all those who behave illegally.

The protest was organised on Facebook by groups of mainly young people, Buccianti adds. By Monday, almost 100,000 people had said they would join the protests. Opposition party the Muslim Brotherhood endorsed the protests, but the main group behind the demonstrations is Kefaya, the Egyptian Movement for Change.

“Today the words you could hear most were ‘Mubarak Out’, even in English,” says Buccianti. “I even saw some Tunisian flags and the Egyptians are hoping to do what Tunisia managed to do.”

Mohamed Hamama in Mansoura agrees:

“Tens of thousands of protesters are streaming down the street, chanting against Hosni Mubarak, chanting against the corruption,” he says.

“They are living so miserably, their salaries are very far below the poverty line. The Tunisian example has proved that people in the streets can change the system and change the regime.”

Al Jazeera report here.

New York Times report here.

Jeffrey Fleishman, The Los Angeles Times: “Thousands of Egyptian protesters inspired by the revolt in Tunisia rushed police and battled tear gas Tuesday in demonstrations against the political repression and unemployment that have defined three decades of rule by President Hosni Mubarak. Groups of protesters marched through downtown Cairo, crossing bridges and outflanking riot police as the crowds headed for a square a few blocks from the parliament building. Security forces, which had shown unusual restraint early in the day, swung batons and clashed with demonstrators amid chants of ‘Freedom’ and ‘Down with Mubarak'”: here.

Juan Cole, TomDispatch.com: “Here’s one obvious lesson of the Tunisian Revolution of 2011: paranoia about Muslim fundamentalist movements and terrorism is causing Washington to make bad choices that will ultimately harm American interests and standing abroad. State Department cable traffic from capitals throughout the Greater Middle East, made public thanks to WikiLeaks, shows that U.S. policy-makers have a detailed and profound picture of the depths of corruption and nepotism that prevail among some ‘allies’ in the region”: here.