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| Virginie Nguyen |
Tens
of thousands converged in Tahrir
Square
Cries of "The people want to bring down the
regime" echoed once again throughout the square, although the most
commonly voiced demands were more practical. Participants want a new, more
balanced Constituent Assembly, the trial of those responsible for protester
deaths and, most importantly, the abrogation of the declaration.
Morsy provoked outrage Thursday when he put himself above
judicial review until a new Parliament is in place, extended the Constituent
Assembly's mandate two additional months and protected it and the Shura Council
from dissolution.
Following initial protests against the decision Friday,
protesters of all ages came together again Tuesday. Motivated by fear for the
revolution and their rights, they pushed back against Morsy's autocratic
decision and inaction on campaign promises, as well as military and religious
domination of political affairs.
"A state of fury has been provoked by the loss of the
rights of the martyrs, the failure to manage state affairs and the suppression
of freedoms," said Gamila Mahmoud, who works in media.
Tamer al-Qady, the owner of an art production company, and
actor Sherif Zaki had been in Tahrir since Friday. When they went home for a
break and returned Tuesday afternoon, they said they were surprised and encouraged
by the turnout.
"I am very happy that the people are still showing
awareness. They no longer buy into the talk about stability and the [economic]
production wheel," says Zaki. "They thought they were the majority
and they believe that having the support of the majority gives them the right
to do anything."
Zaki says protester numbers are proof balance is being
restored.
Those numbers were aided by marches pouring into the
square in the evening. Thousands of mostly Popular Current members marched from
Mostafa Mahmoud Mosque and were later joined by Hamdeen Sabbahi, the group's
leader. Activist Mohamed ElBaradei led the Constitution Party from
Dawaran Shubra. A third group of protesters came from Al-Fateh Mosque in Ramses Square
Opposition forces have been fractured and disorganized
since presidential elections, but there is evidence they are beginning to
reunite. Civilian leaders such as ElBaradei, Sabbahi and former presidential
candidate Amr Moussa have joined forces with their respective parties to form
the National Salvation Front.
"We will not have a dialogue with the president
until he cancels the constitutional declaration," Sabbahi said Monday
during a press conference for the front.
Elbaradei, in an interview published Monday in Al-Masry
al-Youm, said, "I lived my whole life believing in the importance of
dialogue and working to find middle ground in diplomatic crises, but there are
no compromises on principles."
He called on the international community to take action
over Morsy's power play.
Standing their ground
With the chief public prosecutor removed and judges on
strike to protect the judiciary's independence, the president's office
initially signaled it would work toward compromise.
After a failed meeting with judges earlier in the week,
however, its rhetoric lately has suggested an unwillingness to backtrack.
The political leadership is not retreating "one
iota" on the declaration, the president's chief of staff, Mohamed Refaa
al-Tahtawi, told Al-Hayat 2 satellite channel Tuesday evening.
Morsy's supporters have been equally firm in their stance.
"Morsy has pre-empted the opposition," Mahmoud
Hussein, a member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau, said after delivering a
lecture at the Finsbury Park Mosque in London.
Parking attendant Essam Hanafy says Morsy's decisions are
"normal," and that previous presidents have imprisoned their
opponents to protect their decisions.
"Those protesting love revolt and will oppose
anything. The president has the right to immunize his decisions against those
who want fame and hamper everything."
Essam al-Erian, vice president of the Freedom and Justice
Party, told CNN that the constitutional declaration was not a miscalculated
step. It is intended to protect the revolution, he said, claiming that
many of those taking part in ongoing protests are “counter-revolutionary
feloul.”
Civilian political powers says the abolition of the
constitutional declaration is a precondition for engaging in dialogue with
Morsy. They also say a consensus needs to be reached on controversial items in
the new constitution.
Amid calls for another mass protest Friday and the ongoing
Tahrir sit-in, neither side appears ready for appeasement.
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