By Mariam Fam and Dahlia Kholaif
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Thousands of Egyptians packed Cairo’s Tahrir Square overnight, some to celebrate the anniversary of the start of the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule, others to protest against the ruling generals who took power from the former president.
Groups including the Muslim Brotherhood and secular activists set up stands around the plaza, highlighting some of the divisions that have emerged in Egyptian society since the rallies against Mubarak last year. Fireworks lit the sky before dusk while banners were erected around the square vowing to avenge the deaths of civilians during the revolt, in which at least 846 people died.
Shaimaa Ali, a 20-year-old university student, said she came with a friend to the square “to celebrate the revolution and call for the punishment of those who killed the martyrs,” she said.
“We should celebrate,” she said. “We have defeated corruption, injustice and oppression.”
Ahead of the anniversary, the ruling military council warned of “third parties” that might foment unrest. It pledged to release prisoners and partially lift the country’s state of emergency, which extends the powers of the police. Some protesters accuse the army of mismanaging the country’s transition and using tactics similar to Mubarak’s government to stifle dissent.
Seven weeks of elections, in which Islamist groups led by the Brotherhood’s Freedom & Justice party took almost three- quarters of the seats in parliament, have failed to quiet activists organizing the anti-military rallies.
Protests, Rallies
While Ali and some others filling Tahrir said they supported the army as a force for stability, Omar Ashour, director of Middle East studies at the University of Exeter in the U.K., described the mood as anti-military.
“I think the overwhelming chants were anti-military establishment,” said Ashour, who joined the crowds yesterday. “The message is very clear: this is a referendum for the revolution and I think the result came as pro-revolution in an overwhelming manner.”
Protests and rallies were also being held in cities throughout Egypt, including Alexandria and Suez. Dozens have been killed, mostly in the past three months, in clashes between security forces and protesters demanding a speedy transfer to civilian rule.
“We want to bring down the regime because nothing has changed,” said Haitham Ahmed, a 30-year-old banker in Tahrir Square. “A year ago we said we wanted to topple the regime and this is still our demand today.”
Economic Slowdown
The unrest has deterred tourists and foreign investors and curbed economic growth to 1.8 percent in the fiscal year through June, the slowest pace in at least a decade. Tourist arrivals fell 33 percent last year, while international reserves are at the lowest level since March 2005.
Egypt formally requested a $3.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund on Jan. 16 to support the economy.
“No investors will come to the country so that the economy can recover unless there’s an elected president,” said Ahmed. “The council should have sped up the transitional period. It did the opposite and blamed protests for the economic problems.”
The military council pledged Jan. 21 to release 1,959 prisoners convicted by military courts since the beginning of last year. The ruling generals have said they will cede authority once there is an elected president and a new constitution.
New Constitution
Egypt’s elected assembly, which is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom & Justice party, held its inaugural session Jan. 23. One of its first tasks is to select a committee that will write the new constitution. The army has said presidential elections will be held by the end of June.
In a poll of Egyptians released yesterday by Gallup Middle East & Africa, based in Abu Dhabi, 86 percent of people said they planned to vote in presidential elections. though a majority said they didn’t know for whom. Amre Moussa, the former head of the Arab League, led the poll with 17 percent of votes.
--Editors: Digby Lidstone, Terry Atlas
To contact the reporters on this story: Mariam Fam in Cairo at mfam1@bloomberg.net; Dahlia Kholaif in Kuwait at dkholaif@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net
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