Cairo: Egypt’s opposition is set to begin a protest campaign on Sunday to press Islamist President Mohammad Mursi to step down amid mounting fears about fresh deadly street violence.
An escalation in political violence which killed eight people, including an American, in run up to today’s protest is a moment of truth for its fledgling democracy.
The protesters, led by the youth campaign Tamarod, or rebellion, will march to the presidential palace in the eastern Cairo quarter of Heliopolis where they say will hold a sit-in until Mursi quits. A few kilometres away, hundreds of Mursi’s supporters are camping apparently to foil any bid to storm the palace, which the elite army Republican Guard has vowed to safeguard.
Tamarod activists said Saturday they had collected 22.14 million signatures in a two-month petition campaign, demanding Mursi step down and call early presidential elections.The tally outnumbers the votes gained by Mursi in last summer’s presidential election.
As one Tamarod activist announced the figure at a press conference, the audience erupted in chanting: “The people have already toppled the regime.”
Nine liberal members of the Islamist-dominated Shura Council, which temporarily holds the legislative power, told the same press conference they were quitting the chamber in support for the campaign.
Mursi, who took office eactly a year ago, has dismissed calls for an early presidential vote as “absurd and unlawful”. His term ends in 2016.
The army has deployed more troops in Cairo where streets in the heavily populated city looked semi- empty and businesses shut down.
The United States is working to ensure its embassy and diplomats in Egypt are safe, President Barack Obama said. Speaking in South Africa, Obama said: “We are all looking at the situation there with concern.”
The departure terminals at Cairo International Airport were packed as flights bound for Europe, the United States, Canada and the Gulf fully booked.
At least 45 US embassy officials and their families where among those who flew out after the US State Department issued a travel warning for Egypt.
