By Tamim Elyan
CAIRO: Minor quarrels between tens of protestors demanding the end of the current sit-in at Tahrir Square and others refusing to leave took place Sunday in the absence of army and police personnel.
Protesters demanding that the square be emptied claimed that those holding the sit-in are not the same people who were there during the revolution, and thus are hindering efforts to resume a sense of normalcy.
“I took part in previous protests and spent nights in Tahrir but now change is taking place and if there was no change, I would have joined them,” said Emad Ibrahim, one of the protesters opposing the continued sit-in.
“Most of them have personal demands, the people who made the revolution celebrated and left on Friday but those are thugs hired by police stations,” Ibrahim added.
Meanwhile, those taking part in the Tahrir sit-in claimed that the opposing protest is organized by members of the National Democratic Party (NDP), adding that they will not leave until all their demands are met.
“We want state security to be dissolved, all governors discharged from their posts and bringing those responsible of killing peaceful protestors to court,” said Islam Mahmoud, a participant in the ongoing sit-in.
A group of protestors and passersby intervened to prevent an escalation between the two groups.
Each group accused the other of being hired by the NDP to hinder the revolution.
“I asked one of the protestors in the sit-in he told me that I am from the NDP although it is in the interest of the NDP that they stay at the square to claim that the country can’ be run without them,” said Hisham Abul Ghar.
“There used to be specific demands but now it is political thuggery and I don’t know why they are doing this,” he added.
The protestors said that they have 11 demands and they won’t leave until all are met.
“The revolution demanded social justice and the overthrow of the regime not its heads only,” said Islam Khaled. “Those who want to end the sit-in are paid by the NDP and we are trying to talk to them but they refused,” he added.
Groups of protestors created a human cordon around the sit-in while others managed traffic.
