By Safaa Abdoun
CAIRO: Supporters of ousted president Hosni Mubarak are calling for a June 24 demonstration demanding that his trial be canceled and his legacy honored.
Utilizing some of the tactics online activists used to galvanize support for the uprising that ousted Mubarak, his supporters are attracting users through the social networking site, Facebook.
In addition to posters spotted this week in various parts of the capital, a Facebook page called “Egypt’s Third Revolution: Mubarak’s Children are Coming” has attracted over 8,000 users so far.
Its founders call for releasing Mubarak — currently held in a hospital in Sharm El-Sheikh — and canceling his trial, which is set to start on Aug. 3.
They also call for reinstalling his name on all his “achievement,” or landmarks such as the central metro stations where his name was scratched off and replaced with “The Martyrs.” They also want him to be honored by the armed forces.
The group seems to be affiliated with other online groups, most notably one with over 90,000 members called “I’m Sorry, President,” which is calling for users to take to the “square” on June 24 — in reference to Mostafa Mahmoud Square in Mohandiseen that has become the center for Mubarak supporters since Feb. 2.
Several groups and pages were set up under the same name and for the same purpose.
“The elderly can’t be humiliated and for this we are going down to the square,” reads the page of one of the groups. The members explain that they do not support corruption but Mubarak’s pride and dignity is tied with that of every Egyptian.
“I’m against the humiliation, I will go to the square,” the group stated.
A similar group, which has more than 2,180 members called “Mubarak’s Sons,” posts news about the ousted president and his past “accomplishments.”
The same founders of these groups are launching a website in the upcoming weeks called “Al-Mo’amra” (The Conspiracy), an online news portal defending Mubarak and his family against what they describe as ongoing defamation campaigns.
They will be highlighting the negative consequences of the revolution, including the security vacuum, the terror the people have been subjected to and other social, political and economic downfalls post Jan. 25.
Analysts and observers have blamed Mubarak for ordering the withdrawal of the police from the streets in late January in order to create that security vacuum in a failed bid to stem growing protests.
One of the founders, Ahmed Gamal, told news reports that they did not receive any funding and all of the 40 staff members are working on a volunteer basis. Someone has offered a room at an education center in Dar El-Salam to be used as an office for managing the website, he added.
He also said that they have a network of reporters from all over the country which are all supporters and fans of Mubarak, again all of them working on a volunteer basis.
Gamal is also calling for the launch of an online channel called “Mubarak and the People” where they will feature the accomplishments of the former president and his humanitarian stances.
He asserted that they will continue working even though they are expected to be heavily criticized and attacked by the people. They are also calling for a demonstration on Aug. 3, which is the date scheduled for the first court session in Mubarak’s trial.
Clashes broke out on April 24 in front of the state television building Maspero between supporters of ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and others who wanted him prosecuted, with minimal injuries.
The pro-Mubarak group protesting last April described him as a “symbol” that can’t be put on trial, even though some didn’t object to prosecuting his two sons. One protester told Daily News Egypt at the time that the trial won’t be fair.
