It is not a revolution, yet, but thousands of protesters returned to Egypt’s streets on Friday, using slogans from the 2011 uprising to voice their discontent with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Most of the anger was focused on the president’s recent decision to give King Salman of Saudi Arabia two uninhabited islands, Tiran and Sanafir, as a gift.
As the New York Times correspondent Kareem Fahim reported, thousands of protesters rallied outside the journalists’ syndicate in Cairo.
Rare anti-Sisi protest at journalists' syndicate now. Riot police close by. pic.twitter.com/CgKPwCnpFV
— Kareem Fahim (@kfahim) April 15, 2016
Police move to cut off syndicate street with armored truck. New group of protesters start anti military chants. pic.twitter.com/vfrSjLrH5Q
— Kareem Fahim (@kfahim) April 15, 2016
Video recorded by other journalists and activists showed that the chants there included, “They sold our land to Saudi Arabia!” “Down with military rule!” and “The people want the fall of the regime!”
Woman outside Press Synd: "Those islands are just the tip of the iceberg, everything else is also wrong in Egypt" pic.twitter.com/J4juAOdj8M
— cecilia udden (@ceciliauddenm) April 15, 2016
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— Heba Farouk Mahfouz (@HebaFarooq) April 15, 2016
https://twitter.com/aNabbil/status/720949166227202048
Thousands massed at #PressSyndicate chanting "The revolutionaries are back in the square." Security forces present. https://t.co/2znYD7kPH6
— ???? (@mafarwa) April 15, 2016
EyeWitness at Press Syndicate: '' Im seeing faces I havent seen in many many years''#Tiran_Sanafir pic.twitter.com/isLIDOrxEG
— Amr Khalifa (@Cairo67Unedited) April 15, 2016
Mada Masr reporter: Protesters raise flag bearing image of Mina Danial, activist killed in 2011 Maspero violence. pic.twitter.com/4H5wsfdfZx
— Mada Masr ??? ??? (@MadaMasr) April 15, 2016
Mina's flag flies again in front of the journo syndicate, Cairo, amidst revolutionary chants. pic.twitter.com/7prrEEP9oN
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) April 15, 2016
https://twitter.com/HaleemElsharani/status/721005381900742657
Marchers nearby also called for the president to simply “Leave!” a demand issued to former President Hosni Mubarak from Tahrir Square in 2011.
https://twitter.com/haleemelsharani/status/720978114642370560
The BBC’s Arabic service shared video of tear gas being fired at marchers earlier on Friday on Mostafa Mahmoud Street in the Cairo district of Mohandiseen.
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— BBC News ???? (@BBCArabic) April 15, 2016
One woman carried a poster dedicated to the memory of Giulio Regeni, an Italian researcher who was abducted and brutally murdered near Tahrir Square on Jan. 25, the fifth anniversary of the 2011 uprising.
protestor holds a sign: "Justice for #GiulioRegeni, the 5 [killed by police] & the all martyrs" At Cairo high court. pic.twitter.com/HvQyxAC0I5
— Amro Ali (@_amroali) April 15, 2016
An image shared by the April 6 Youth movement, one of the groups that helped mobilize support for the 2011 protests, showed a protester holding a placard that read: “#Egypt is not for sale.”
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— A6M???? ???? 6 ????? (@shabab6april) April 15, 2016
The same group — whose leaders have been jailed by Sisi’s government — also shared what it said was a photograph of a journalist being assaulted and detained by plainclothes police officers.
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— A6M???? ???? 6 ????? (@shabab6april) April 15, 2016
Unsanctioned street protests, which helped bring Sisi to power, were banned after he took office, meaning that the demonstrators risked arrest and jail terms. Across Egypt, police arrested at least 100 protesters in nine different provinces, including 17 journalists, a security source told Aswat Masriya, a local news site supported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
After one of the Cairo protest leaders, Khaled Ali, called for a new rally on April 25, the police initially agreed to let the demonstrators at the journalists’ syndicate disperse, according to Ahdaf Soueif, a prominent writer.
Khaled Ali urging people to leave Press Syndicate and protest on April 25 pic.twitter.com/FjdsCn8qAB
— Sharif Kouddous ???? ??? ?????? (@sharifkouddous) April 15, 2016
It's over downtown for today. Safe passage negotiated with army. People on the move with promise to return on the 25th. #Egyrevolution
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) April 15, 2016
A short time later, however, Soueif reported via Twitter that tear gas was fired at the remaining protesters, and others were arrested as they left.
After 30 mins of amnesty police attacked. Gas now. One protestor made it into Journo syndicate then collapsed. pic.twitter.com/Ybpz8zNRXA
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) April 15, 2016
Now people who remained in syndicate to ensure safety of departing protestors are trapped. Shooting outside. pic.twitter.com/ZdkDIes5yY
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) April 15, 2016
We're out, but people being picked up in whole area surrounding downtown.
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) April 15, 2016
Lawyer's heading now for various police stations. Plus ca change. But the street is alive again.
— Ahdaf Soueif (@asoueif) April 15, 2016