Tamarud anti-Morsi poster. Still from ITN video
Millions of Egyptians took to the streets last night pressuring President Morsi to resign and call a snap election.
The protesters complain that Morsi and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood have “hijacked the revolution” and not addressed the economic and social problems faced by the population at large. Many people feel let down by Morsi, who came to power under the promise that he would rule for all Egyptians, but he still relies on the Muslim Brotherhood for much of the work of government rather than building independent government institutions that would be truly independent.
In scenes that brought back memories of the protests that brought down former leader Hosni Mubarak, more than 500,000 people swelled Tahrir Square, where they chanted “Irhal! Irhal!” (“Leave! Leave!), before heading to Itahadiya, the presidential palace in the north-east of Cairo in the evening.
Over the last few weeks, Tamarud, an Egyptian activist group, organised a petition calling for Morsi’s resignation, which gained more than 22 million signatures. The group has issued Morsi an ultimatum, giving him until Tuesday to resign before they and their supporters will begin a campaign of civil disobedience.
Not all of the protests have remained peaceful, however, with the Muslim Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters a focal point for bitter about the power the group have gained in such a short period of time. Hundreds of people are reported to have hurled rocks and petrol bombs at the building, with gunfire exchanged between protesters and those inside.
Egypt is a divided country, with Morsi carrying much support from certain sectors of society, as demonstrated by a number of pro-Morsi and pro-Muslim Brotherhood rallies being held over recent days. Violence has sparked whenever the two groups of protesters have met, with security forces stating that seven people have been killed and more than 600 have been injured in the clashes.
As both opponents and supporters of Morsi taking to the streets, the number of protesters is reported to dwarf those seen in 2011, with Reuters reporting that 14 million people have taken part, a sixth of Egypt’s the population
Since the protests erupted, Morsi has confirmed that he has no plans to resign, but admits that he has made mistakes and is working to fix them. He has called on the protests to remain peaceful, and said he hoped to create a national dialogue.
