Trouble in Egypt: Anti-government riots reported in several cities
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
CAIRO Ñ Egypt has used its security forces to crack down on Internet dissent and to suppress labor unrest and scattered pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country.
On April 6, security forces, including anti-riot troops, quelled labor and anti-government demonstrations in several Egyptian cities including Cairo. Security forces also surrounded university campuses to prevent student unrest.
The Interior Ministry forces were also ordered to break up pro-democracy demonstrations in Egyptian cities during plans for a strike on April 6.
"There has been a crackdown on all dissent, even on the Internet," an Egyptian opposition activist said.
Two days earlier, Egyptian security forces arrested 25 suspected opposition bloggers. The bloggers were charged with using the Internet to call on Egyptians to participate in the April 6 strike, termed "Day of Rage." So far, authorities have arrested scores of suspected labor organizers. They were said to have included young women who had been distributing leaflets around factories north of Cairo on the eve of the strike.
Human rights activists who monitored the operations of security forces have also been arrested. Opposition sources said they included attorneys who had advised and accompanied labor activists.
In 2008, the Egyptian opposition formed the "April 6" movement in an effort to stage a general strike throughout the country. Three people were killed and more than 100 were injured -- mostly in the Nile Delta -- in the failed attempt to launch a general strike. During the riots last year, protesters torched banks, schools and offices.
Over the last few days, protesters have chanted slogans against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the security forces. The protesters included members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, which stood largely on the sidelines during the 2008 campaign. Scores of Brotherhood deputies also walked out of parliament on April 6 to commemorate the strike.
The opposition has demanded a raise in the Egyptian minimum wage to the equivalent of $218 per month, or 1,200 Egyptian pounds, as well as changes to the constitution. The monthly minimum wage has been 167 pounds, or $30.
"If these [demands] are not fulfilled by April 6, 2010, we will prepare for a general strike in all of Egypt," Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour, freed from prison in February 2009, said.