Tahrir activists regroup after raid

TROOPS ARMED with tear gas, batons, cattle prods and automatic weapons mounted a dawn raid yesterday to drive democracy activists from Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square – but protesters quickly regrouped and regained control.

Four activists were shot dead by snipers during the clashes, said Yamen El-Gennady, a doctor at a field clinic on the edge of the square, adding to the toll of 14-16 fatalities since Friday. At least 500 people have been wounded and several hundred arrested.

During the afternoon, 2,000 women rallying in the square were surrounded by men who formed a human shield to protect them. The women were protesting an assault by troops who clubbed, kicked and dragged a young woman who had been stripped to her bra and jeans.

Video images of the incident prompted US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to state, “Women are being beaten and humiliated in the same streets where they risked their lives for the revolution only a few short months ago.”

She pointed out that since the uprising, women have been largely excluded from government and senior positions in political parties. “This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonours the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people.” Her comments amounted to unprecedented criticism from an ally which provides $1.3 billion (€1 billion) in annual aid to the Egyptian military.

In a dramatic policy shift, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party has declared its support for the protesters and its intention of taking part in an open-ended sit-in outside the supreme court until executive authority is transferred from the ruling military council to a civilian body.

Since the party won 37 per cent of the votes in the initial two rounds of Egypt’s first free parliamentary election, the presence of party figures at such a protest could be highly significant.

The party has accused the council of mismanaging the transition from ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s regime to democracy, and blamed the council for the past five days of violence.

It has demanded the detention of military personnel responsible for assaults on protesters and the release of those detained during a sit-in to protest the appointment of Kamal Ganzouri, a Mubarak stalwart, to the premiership.

Amnesty International has urged arms suppliers to halt the flow of small arms to Egypt, while Washington has suspended shipments of tear gas since it was used in central Cairo last month.

Nineteen political groups have called for a million-man demonstration against military rule in Tahrir Square on Friday.