Revolutie in Egypte #188: Waar Hillary Clinton Tahrir Square bezocht

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Op vrijdag 1 april 2011 15:43 schreef Drifter__ het volgende:
Er wordt een lichte aardbeving gemeld in Cairo en Rode Zee gebieden.

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Op vrijdag 1 april 2011 15:43 schreef Drifter__ het volgende:
Er wordt een lichte aardbeving gemeld in Cairo en Rode Zee gebieden.

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De schok werd niet gevoeld in Athene, maar wel in Kairo.

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Op zondag 3 april 2011 16:46 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:
AJE Breaking: Mubarak zou het land uit zijn, misschien naar Duitsland.

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http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/(...)t-kritische-blogger/

Een militaire rechtbank veroordeelt Maikel Nabil vandaag mogelijk tot drie jaar cel vanwege een blog waarin hij vraagtekens zet bij de motieven van het Egyptische leger, meldt Reuters. Hij plaatste foto’s en video’s van mensen die beweerden door de militaire politie mishandeld te zijn.

Nabil schreef de blog begin vorige maand. Op 28 maart werd hij gearresteerd door militaire officieren en belediging van het leger ten laste gelegd. Vandaag zou een militaire rechtbank zich uitspreken over de zaak, maar de uitkomst is nog niet bekend.



Mensenrechtenorganisatie Human Rights Watch roept de Opperste Militaire Raad op om de zaak tegen de blogger te laten vallen. Een veroordeling zou volgens hen een “gevaarlijk precedent” scheppen.

“Het is vrij schokkend dat in dit nieuwe democratische tijdperk van Egypte de militaire overheid iemand vervolgt, omdat hij iets schrijft over het leger. Deze zaak schept een gevaarlijk precedent in een Egypte dat juist afstand wil doen van het machtsmisbruik onder Hosni Mubarak.”

Ook NRC-buitenlandredacteur Carolien Roelants is bezorgd, oude tijden lijken te herleven in Egypte:

“Het zegt niet veel goeds over het huidige systeem in Egypte. Het is een teken aan de wand dat Nabil hier überhaupt voor berecht wordt. De noodtoestand is natuurlijk nog steeds van kracht en daaronder gebeurt nog van alles. Zo zijn lang niet alle politieke gevangenen vrijgelaten, wat wel zou gebeuren. Nabil is niet de enige die zich in een benarde situatie bevindt. Oude tijden lijken te herleven in Egypte.”

Het Egyptische leger ontkent dat het pro-democratiedemonstranten heeft mishandeld. Het bewijs tegen Nabil bestaat uit een cd waarop zijn blogposts verzameld zijn samen met reacties op Facebook. Nabil bekritiseert hierin onder andere het gebruik om vrouwelijke rekruten te onderwerpen aan een test om de maagdelijkheid vast te stellen.

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A verdict in the trial of a blogger accused of insulting Egypt's armed forces has been postponed on Wednesday, a day after Human Rights Watch called for the case to be dropped, the defendant's lawyer has told AFP.

Gamal Eid, head of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and a lawyer representing Maikel Nabil, told AFP the military tribunal would now hand down the verdict on Sunday.

In a statement on Tuesday, HRW said Egypt's armed forces "should drop all charges against (Nabil) for his Internet posts critical of the military."

"This trial sets a dangerous precedent at a time when Egypt is trying to transition away from the abuses of the Mubarak era," HRW's Middle East and North Africa director Sarah Leah Whitson was quoted as saying.

Nabil could receive up to three years in prison, the New York-based rights groups said.

This is the first trial of a blogger by a military court since the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces assumed control after president Hosni Mubarak resigned on 11 February following a wave of anti-regime protests.

Military police arrested Nabil, a campaigner against forced conscription, on 28 March after he wrote blogs criticizing the military, HRW said.

His posts and comments on social networking website Facebook were used as evidence against him in the trial, HRW quoted his lawyers as saying.

Last year, a military court sentenced another blogger to six months in prison for publishing "military secrets" after he posted instructions on Facebook on how to enlist in the armed forces, his lawyers said at the time.

Another blogger was acquitted after he published a post on alleged patronage in a military academy.

The military, which pledged to hand power to a civilian government once parliamentary and presidential elections are held, has tried and sentenced dozens of people in the past weeks for crimes such as robbery and assault.

The trials are speedy and can result in harsh sentences according to rights groups.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk(...)return-tahrir-square

Military the target of Egyptian demonstrations as people demand more prosecutions against Hosni Mubarak-era ministers



Protesters have packed Cairo's Tahrir Square, piling pressure on the ruling military council to meet demands including the prosecution of Hosni Mubarak in one of the biggest demonstrations since he was ousted.

By early afternoon the protest had swollen to more than 100,000. Thousands waved red, white and black Egyptian flags in scenes reminiscent of the height of the protests that toppled Mubarak and helped ignite revolts in other Arab countries.

"Oh field marshal, we've been very patient!" chanted some of the protesters, gathered in the square that was the hub of protests that toppled Mubarak from the presidency and left the army, led by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, in charge.

"Tantawi, Tantawi get your act together or do you want a pool of blood?" chanted some of the protesters.

The military has enjoyed broad support since it took control of the country on 11 February but frustrations have grown over the pace of reform. Attention is now focused on the perceived tardiness of legal steps against Mubarak and his entourage.

Mubarak and his family have been living in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since he left Cairo on 11 February.

The public prosecutor, who has filed charges against some but not all of the Mubarak-era officials, was also the focus of anger during a demonstration which one activist group declared "The Friday of Purification and Accountability".

A military helicopter hovered over the city centre as protesters poured into the square after Friday prayers to support demands including the removal of remaining Mubarak-era officials, such as the powerful provincial governors.

Banners included economic demands, such as the imposition of minimum and maximum wages. "The revolution is continuing until democracy is achieved," read one banner.

"It's a strong message that the revolution is not over yet and is still going on and will not quieten down before its goals are realised," said Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science and a prominent figure in the reform movement.

Street action remained "the real guarantee to the success of the revolution," a coalition of youth activists said in a statement. "There has to be continued pressure for the quick and effective realisation of the demands of the revolution," it said.

"Oh field marshal, oh field marshal, we are staying in Tahrir," read one of the banners directed at Tantawi, who served as defence minister in Mubarak's administration from 1991 until he was ousted from the presidency.

The military has scheduled a parliamentary election for September. It has said a presidential election will be held in either October or November, until when the army will hold presidential powers.

At one point eight young men in military uniform appeared on stage, calling for Tantawi's removal. It was not possible to verify whether they were serving in the military.

"The people want the field marshal to fall," one shouted over loudspeakers. Some in the crowd applauded and repeated the refrain.

Others declared them imposters seeking to create trouble between the army and the reform movement and urged them to get off the stage.

"We are calling on the field marshal to meet the demands of the people," said Ibrahim Ahmed, a 20-year old student. "Enough collusion in not carrying out prosecutions," he said.

The interim government installed by the military council has set up a new committee to uncover corruption from Mubarak's 30-year rule. The illicit gains panel is set to question Gamal Mubarak, the president's son, next week.

"If Mubarak is not prosecuted, we will go to Sharm el-Sheikh," read another banner held aloft by the protesters.

The military has said the 82-year-old president, himself a former military officer, is banned from leaving the country.

The campaign against Mubarak-era figures has resulted in the arrest of once untouchable figures including the former interior minister and other ministers who held economic portfolios and are accused of corruption.

Zakaria Azmi, a leading Mubarak aide, was the latest high-profile figure to be arrested. He was detained on Thursday on accusations of illegal gains. Reformists questioned why it had taken so long.

"There is a feeling that the military council faces many restrictions," Nafaa, the political science professor, said.

"The aim of the protest isn't to criticise or revolt, but to express a sense of frustration because of the tardiness in bringing to trial those responsible for corruption," he said.

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http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/(...)protest-tahrirplein/

De Egyptische legerpolitie heeft vannacht in Kairo met geweld een einde gemaakt aan een demonstratie op het centrale Tahrirplein. Honderden betogers werden uit elkaar gedreven met wapenstokken en schoten in de lucht.

Het Tahrirplein was sinds gistermiddag opnieuw het toneel van een massademonstratie tegen oud-president Mubarak, zijn familie en voormalige politieke bondgenoten. Tienduizenden Egyptenaren eisten in de betoging dat de ex-president en zijn getrouwen worden vervolgd voor corruptie en andere misdaden gedurende hun bewind. De demonstratie verliep grotendeels vreedzaam, totdat het leger vannacht besloot om vanaf twee uur lokale tijd de avondklok te handhaven.

Volgens ooggetuigen die hun verhaal deden aan persbureau AP probeerden de paar honderd betogers die nog op het plein waren om een aantal betogende militairen te beschermen tegen arrestatie. Gisteren nog kondigde het Egyptische leger aan dat deelname van militairen aan de demonstratie niet zou worden getolereerd. Het leger pakte vannacht een onbekend aantal betogers op en voerde ze volgens ooggetuigen af in politiebusjes.

Na het ingrijpen riep een kleine groep fanatieke betogers, die opnieuw bezit namen van het Tahrirplein: “Het volk wil de val van de veldmaarschalk”. Hiermee refereren ze aan Hussein Tantawi, de leider van de Hoge Raad der Strijdkrachten die Egypte tot aan de verkiezingen van komend najaar bestuurt. Veel Egyptische activisten zijn kritisch over hoe het militaire regime Egypte de laatste tijd heeft bestuurd. De activisten beklagen zich over mensenrechtenschendingen en een gebrek aan transparantie. Woensdag nog veroordeelde een militaire rechtbank een kritische blogger.

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The Armys Special Forces, Paratroopers, with the help of Central Security Forces (yes, they are back and the US-made tear gas canisters are back too!) and plainclothes policemen cracked down on Tahrir protesters starting from 3:20am, with tasers, live ammunition. There are reports of injuries. We still dont know if anyone died yet.

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Army officers join Cairo protest ( met video )

_{By Ivan Watson and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, CNN
April 9, 2011 -- Updated 0115 GMT (0915 HKT)}

Cairo (CNN) -- Throngs of people crowded into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday in an effort to inject new life into Egypt's revolution and push the country's ruling military council to prosecute the former president, Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down under immense popular pressure on February 11.

Compared with previous weeks, the protesters' ranks swelled, in part due to the addition of Egypt's long-banned Muslim Brotherhood movement, which had chosen not to participate in recent Friday protests.

There was another addition to the protest movement, one that marked a direct challenge to Egypt's military rulers.

Fifteen Egyptian soldiers and mid-level army officers joined the demonstration, flouting a ban issued Thursday by a military spokesman.

Several of the military personnel took to one of the stages erected in the crowded square and called for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to be dissolved and replaced by a civilian presidential council. The Supreme Council assumed legislative and executive authority over Egypt after Mubarak resigned.

The military personnel remained in the square into the evening.
An army lieutenant colonel and a military police officer late Friday tried to walk to the center of square, but they were surrounded by demonstrators who chanted "get out, get out."

Within moments, members of the crowd began pushing the officers and knocking their hats off their heads.

The officers, apparently frightened, started running and were pursued out of the square.

Earlier this week, several military officers took to the internet, recording video statements accusing the chairman of the ruling council, Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, of protecting Mubarak from prosecution and of leading a counterrevolutionary movement.

"If they really wanted to prosecute these corrupt officials they would have done it immediately. That's why we are here today," one of the protesting officers, told CNN.

On Thursday, Supreme Council spokesman Maj. Mohamed Askar told CNN that any military personnel who appeared in Tahrir Square in uniform would be immediately arrested and taken before a military tribunal.

On Friday, activists in Tahrir Square encircled the 15 protesting officers and soldiers as they walked through the crowd, protecting them from arrest or possible attacks.

One of the officers spoke on stage to the crowd, acknowledging he risked arrest but urging demonstrators to repeat the tactics of January and February by staging an overnight sit-in in Tahrir Square.

Egypt's interim government has investigated and arrested a growing number of officials from the former Mubarak regime in recent days. A former housing minister and Mubarak's long-time chief of staff, Zacharia Azmi, were both placed under arrest this week on corruption charges.

"All of these ministers you see, its nothing!" said Talat Sadat, a former parliament member and critic of Mubarak. "The revolution wants the president himself! Wants his wife, his son, his daughter!"

Mubarak has been living on his estate at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since he stepped down from office.

The Egyptian military rode a wave of popularity after troops refused to fire on pro-democracy protesters during 18 days of street protests. But in the weeks since, the secretive 20-man council has come under increasing criticism from different portions of the Egyptian political spectrum, amid complaints of human rights abuses and lack of transparency in its decision-making process.

Last week, more than 10,000 demonstrators peacefully protested in Tahrir Square, many of them heaping criticism on the ruling military council. But this week the numbers were boosted by Egypt's long-banned Muslim Brotherhood movement.

"The Muslim Brotherhood is joining the protest to support the demands of all the Egyptians who started this revolution, because we want to finish what we began," Dr. Jamal Nassar, a senior official in the Brotherhood, said Thursday. "We want the army to speed up the trials of all those involved in corruption from the Mubarak regime."

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Protests against Egypt's military council continue= ( met video)
_{By the CNN Wire Staff
April 9, 2011 -- Updated 0717 GMT (1517 HKT)}

Cairo (CNN) -- Gunfire and clashes continued in Cairo's Tahrir Square early Saturday as protesters extended demonstrations aimed at pushing Egypt's ruling military council to prosecute former president, Hosni Mubarak.

About 1,000 protesters were in and around Tahrir Square at 2:30 a.m. Saturday along with a throng of riot police and army soldiers.

The situation quickly turned into chaos as police and soldiers beat protesters with sticks and shot tear gas.

Protesters were seen burning a bus and running around wearing military hats they had snatched off soldier's heads as gunfire rang out.

The clashes come a day after large crowds of protesters amassed at Tahrir Square, many of them angry with Egypt's new military rulers.

After Mubarak's ouster in February, the military took control -- riding a wave of popularity for refusing to fire on pro-democracy protesters during 18 days of anti-government protests.

But in the weeks since, the secretive 20-man council has come under increasing frustration and criticism from different portions of the Egyptian political spectrum. Critics have complained of human rights abuses and lack of transparency in the council's decision-making process.

On Friday, some soldiers joined the protests in a direct challenge to Egypt's military rulers. For long intervals, they took to one of the stages erected in the crowded square and called for the country's military rulers to be replaced.

"If they really wanted to prosecute these corrupt officials they would have done it immediately. That's why we are here today," one of the protesting officers said during the Friday protests.

Earlier this week, several military officers took to the internet, recording video statements accusing the chairman of the ruling council, Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, of protecting Mubarak from prosecution and of leading a counterrevolutionary movement.

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'Two dead' as Egyptian protesters barricade themselves in Tahrir Square
Demonstrators burned cars and barricaded themselves with barbed wire inside Cairo's Tahrir Square after troops violently dispersed an overnight protest.

12:56PM BST 09 Apr 2011

Protesters said that two were killed in the violence - a report confirmed by several doctors - although local hospitals and military sources have denied this.

Hundreds of soldiers beat protesters with clubs and fired into the air in the predawn raid on Tahrir Square in a sign of the rising tensions between Egypt's ruling military and protesters.

Armed with sticks and other makeshift weapons, the protesters vowed not to leave until the defense minister, the titular head of state, has resigned.

The soldiers swept into the square around 3am and waded into a tent camp in the centre where protesters had formed a human cordon to protect several army officers, who had joined their demonstration in defiance of their superiors.

Ali Moustafa, a car mechanic who was guarding the "free soldiers" tent, said that he saw the army stab one of the officers with his bayonet, pointing to a section of pavement stained with blood under a small pile of rubbish and food remains.

Another protester was shot dead, said Ahmed Gamal, who was there overnight. He added that he saw at least two others severely injured by live ammunition.

The nearby Mounira Hospital, however, reported that it only had 10 injured from rocks and stick and none from bullet wounds.

The troops dragged an unknown number of protesters away, throwing them into police trucks, eyewitnesses said.

Troops surrounded the mosque and heavy gunfire was heard for hours. Protesters in the mosque reported large numbers of injured, including several wounded by gunfire.

The military issued a statement afterward blaming "outlaws" for rioting and violating the country's 2am to 5am curfew, and asserted that no one was harmed or arrested.

"The armed forces stress that they will not tolerate any acts of rioting or any act that harms the interest of the country and the people," it said.

Black smoke rose in the sky as the sun came up in Cairo, after three vehicles, including two troops carriers, were set on fire.

The square was filled with shattered glass, stones and debris from the fighting, in a scene reminiscent of the protests in January that brought down the regime of Hosni Mubarak. The glass storefront of a KFC on the square was also smashed.

"We are staging a sit-in until the field marshal is prosecuted," said Anas Esmat, a 22-year-old university student in the square as protesters dragged debris and barbed wire to seal off the streets leading into the square.

"The people want the fall of the field marshal," chanted protesters, in a variation on the chant that has become famous across the Middle East with protests calling for regime change.

"Tantawi is Mubarak and Mubarak is Tantawi," went another chant, explicitly equating Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, the defense minister, with the president who once appointed him.

The clashes came hours after hundreds of thousands massed in Tahrir Square on Friday in one of the biggest protests in weeks, demanding that the military prosecute ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his family for alleged corruption.

More than in previous protests, chants and banners on Friday directly criticised the military's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and Mr Tantawi, a former Mubarak loyalist.

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Op zaterdag 9 april 2011 13:19 schreef doeterniettoezegiktoch het volgende:
er word beweerd van deze opname dat die ook van gisteren is ??

After the prayer in Tahrir. April 8, 2011

was het weer zo druk ???

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Op zaterdag 9 april 2011 15:46 schreef rakotto het volgende:

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Ja, het was gisteren weer zo druk.

Alleen wel 2 doden in de nacht.

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Op zaterdag 9 april 2011 14:29 schreef doeterniettoezegiktoch het volgende:

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