Protesters arrested in Egypt
2005-05-05 11:06
Cairo - Thousands of supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamic group, protested across the country on Wednesday in an escalation of the opposition campaign demanding political reform. Police arrested hundreds of protesters.
More than 2 500 Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters protested in front of a large mosque, some waving copies of the Quran and chanting: "Reform is a religious necessity, reform is the Prophet's way". One of the banners read, "Freedom is a religious duty."
The protests — held on the 77th birthday of President Hosni Mubarak — were the latest show of strength by the Brotherhood, which is probably Egypt's largest opposition movement but for years held few large demonstrations to avoid provoking the government.
Over the past months, numerous street demonstrations were held protesting against Mubarak. Police said 400 people were arrested during the protests, which took place in Cairo, several cities in the Delta and in Fayoum, south of Cairo. Large security presences prevented protests in the northern cities of Alexandria and Mansoura.
But senior Muslim Brotherhood member Essam el-Erian estimated the number arrested to be about 1 000 protesters.
Some 2 000 Brotherhood members demonstrated in the Nile Delta province of Kafr el-Sheik, and five were injured in scuffles with the police, according to protest organizers.
At the Cairo protest, vast numbers of police, in riot gear, surrounded the al-Fateh mosque, while demonstrators remained in the mosque compound during the two-hour rally.
Political hot spot
"We stress that the Brotherhood continues to demand reform. These oppressive means only increase the tensions in Egypt," Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mahdi Akef said.
The frequency of anti-government protests has increased since December. Multi-candidate presidential elections will be held for the first time in September. Mubarak, in power since 1981, hasn't announced yet if he will run for his fifth term, but he is widely expected to.
One of the banners at Cairo demonstration read, "Yes for a president chosen by the sons of the nation. No to stealing people's will."
The Muslim Brotherhood, which calls for implementation of Islamic law in Egypt, was established in 1928 and banned since 1954. It renounced violence in the 1970s, and the state tolerates some of it activities but has frequently imprisoned its leaders. Fifteen Brotherhood members have seats in parliament, elected as independents and forming the largest opposition bloc.
Brotherhood members, other opposition figures and pro-reform activists called for lifting emergency laws (which give security forces broad powers) imposed by Mubarak in 1981 after the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat.
Meanwhile, pro- government newspapers dedicated front page editorials congratulating Mubarak on his birthday.
- AP