Three opposition marches are planned in Cairo, all of which will converge at the Presidential Palace, the scene of deadly clashes on Wednesday night. One march will start at the Rab’a Al-A’daweya Mosque, another will start at Al-Matariya Square, and the third will begin at Al-Nour Mosque.
The marches commence at 4pm. Baheya Ya Masr, a women’s rights group, is calling on women to gather at Rab’a Al A’daweya Mosque to join the march organised by the National Front for the Salvation of the Revolution.
Tony Sabry, from the Maspero Youth Coalition said that they will be taking part in the marches today to protest what he called the Muslim Brotherhood’s attack on protesters and to call for the rights of the people who died in the clashes overnight as well as the hundreds who were injured.
Sabry himself was present at the clashes and has been injured. “We will not give up on our rights…” he said.
Heba Yassin of the Popular Current said that the group will be taking part in all three marches. “We insist that our marches are peaceful and we demand an end to the violence caused by the Muslim Brotherhood,” she said.
Yassin suggested that President Mohamed Morsy’s hands are “stained with blood” because he did not stop the violence. “He has lost his legitimacy,” she said.
The presidential guard has said that it is necessary to evacuate the vicinity of the palace and that demonstrations in the area are banned, according to AFP.
Yassin is adamant that this move does not make sense because demonstrations were previously permitted, and because neither the army nor the police intervened Wednesday to stop the violence.
Mona Mounir of the Free Egyptians Party said that her party is taking part in all three marches to condemn the violence and protest what she described as “fascist dictatorship.” “The people will not be silent, this is the start of a new revolution,” she said.
The National Rescue Front released its fifth statement on Wednesday, saying it will not give up demonstrations until three demands are met. They ask that the president rescinds his constitutional declaration, calls off the referendum on the draft constitution and forms a
new committee including all factions of Egyptian society to draft a new constitution.
The opposition coalition gave a deadline of Friday 7 December to meet their demands.
The clashes which erupted Wednesday afternoon have left at least five dead and around 700 injured. They took place between pro and anti-Morsy demonstrators.
On Wednesday morning Mahmoud Ghozlan, the media spokesperson of the Muslim Brotherhood, said that the Brotherhood will protest at the palace to protect “legitimacy.”
