Frustrated by lack of government response, more protests planned
CAIRO: Members of Egypt’s press syndicate sent a group of representatives Tuesday to the Lebanese Embassy in Cairo in an expression of solidarity and in protest over the Israeli war on Lebanon. The Jewish state continues to exert pressure on the country, resuming air raids for the ninth day in a row and sending ground troops into southern Lebanon.
After having planning an anti-war protest by journalists and activists in front of the Lebanese Embassy in Zamalek, the Lebanese embassy reportedly contacted the syndicate, requesting that the protest be cancelled and welcoming representative journalists instead. Muslim Brotherhood member and journalist Mohammad Abdel-Qudous, a familiar face in pro-reform and opposition protests and the head of the freedoms committee in the syndicate, planned the initiative.
“The Israeli offensive against the Palestinian people is by all means a crime, and Hezbollah’s acts of defense of the Lebanese lands are a legitimate right, Abdel-Qudous was quoted as saying by Al-Masry Al-Youm. “[Hezbollah’s] rockets have revealed how weak the Arab states are.
Abdel-Qudous, representing journalists, visited the embassy as requested. However a group of Kefaya Movement protesters insisted on a demonstration, sitting-in in front of the embassy, chanting, carrying signs and holding posters of Shiite Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The group, however, was reportedly prevented from burning the Israeli flag to avoid stirring up trouble.
Meanwhile, high-profile members of Kefaya are calling for more forms of protest against the Israeli offensive, circulating e-mail and phone messages demanding that the people show their solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon.
“Next Friday, wear anything black all day and switch off the lights one minute during the night call to prayer, read a phone message that was tagged “tell all and forwarded on by movie actor and Kefaya member Khaled El-Sawy. “This is how we will tell the entire world that Egyptians support the Arab resistance in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq.
Under the slogan “If the governments are silent . then let the peoples rise [in protest], Kefaya will also hold national demonstrations across 26 governorates, according to their official Web site, after next Friday’s Muslim prayer service.
According to the group, who will assemble in front of the press syndicate, the protest will include representatives from various political movements and opposition parties.
