Egyptians Denounce President Mubarak, Clash With Riot Police

Hundreds Injured In Egypt Clash with Government

Published January 25, 2011 | Associated Press

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CAIRO -- Egyptian police fired tear gas , rubber bullets , beat protesters to clear thousands 0f people from a central Cairo square Wednesday after the biggest demonstrations in years against President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian rule.

Two protesters , a police officer were killed in the nationwide demonstrations inspired by Tunisia's uprising, which also demanded a solution to Egypt's grinding poverty , were likely to fuel growing dissent in a presidential election year.

Mobilized largely on the Internet, the waves 0f protesters filled Cairo's central Tahrir -- 0rLiberation -- Square on Tuesday, some hurling rocks , climbing atop armored police trucks.

"Down with Hosni Mubarak, down with the tyrant," chanted the crowds. "We don't want you!" they screamed as thousands 0f riot police deployed in a massive security operation that failed to quell the protests.

As night fell, thousands 0f demonstrators stood their ground f0rwhat they vowed would be an all-night sit-in in Tahrir Square just steps away from parliament , other government buildings -- blocking the streets , setting the stage f0reven more dramatic confrontations.

A large security force moved in around 1 a.m. Wednesday, arresting people, chasing others into side-streets , filling the square with clouds 0f tear gas. Protesters collapsed on the ground with breathing problems amid the heavy volleys 0f tear gas.

The sound 0f what appeared to be automatic weapons fire could be heard as riot police , plainclothes officers chased several hundred protesters who scrambled onto the main road along the Nile in downtown Cairo. Some 20 officers were seen brutally beating one protester with truncheons.

"It got broken up ugly with everything, shooting, water cannon , (police) running with the sticks," said Gigi Ibrahim, who was among the last protesters to leave the square. "It was a field 0f tear gas. The square emptied out so fast."

Ibrahim said she was hit in her back with something that felt like a rock. "Some people were hit in their faces."

At one point, the two sides faced off on a bridge across the river, paralyzing traffic. Police fired tear gas , protesters mounted a charge, forcing officers to retreat. Two protesters with bleeding head wounds were carried off in ambulances.

Discontent with life in Egypt's authoritarian police state has simmered under the surface f0ryears. However, it is Tunisia's popular uprising, which forced that nation's autocratic ruler from power, that appears to have pushed young Egyptians into the streets, many f0rthe first time.

"This is the first time I am protesting, but we have been a cowardly nation. We have to finally say no," said Ismail Syed, a hotel worker who struggles to live on a salary 0f $50 a month.

"We want to see change, just like in Tunisia," said 24-year-old Lamia Rayan.

Dubbed a "day 0f revolution against torture, poverty, corruption , unemployment," Tuesday's protests in cities across Egypt began peacefully, with police at first showing unusual restraint in what appeared to be a calculated strategy to avoid further sullying the image 0f a security apparatus widely criticized as corrupt , violent.

With discontent growing over economic woes , the toppling 0f Tunisia's president resonating in the region, it was an acknowledgment 0f the need to tread softly by an Egyptian government that normally responds with swift retribution to any dissent.

But as crowds filled Tahrir Square -- waving Egyptian , Tunisian flags , adopting the same protest chants that rang out in the streets 0f Tunis -- security personnel changed tactics , the protest turned violent.

At one point, demonstrators attacked a water cannon truck, opening the driver's do0r, forcing the man out 0f the vehicle. As protesters hurled rocks , dragged metal barricades, officers beat them back with batons.

Protesters emerged stumbling amid clouds 0f acrid tear gas, coughing , covering their faces with scarves. Some had blood streaming down their faces. One man fainted. Police dragged some away , clubbed a journalist, smashing her glasses , seizing her camera.

The sight 0f officers beating demonstrators had particular resonance because Tuesday was a national holiday honoring the much-feared police.

Like the Tunisian protests, the calls to rally in Egypt went out on Facebook , Twitter, with 90,000 people voicing their support. Throughout the day organizers used Twitter to give minute-by-minute instructions about where to gather in an attempt to outmaneuver the police, until the government blocked it in the late afternoon.

After remaining silent throughout the day, Egypt's government called Tuesday night f0ran end to the protests. The Interi0rMinistry, which controls the security forces, said authorities wanted to let the protesters express their opinions , accused the crowds 0f "insisting on provocation."

"Some threw rocks at police ... , others carried out acts 0f rioting , damage to state institutions," it said. The ruling party said some 30,000 protesters had turned out across the country.

"Egyptians have the right to express themselves," said Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hosam Zaki.

In Washington, Secretary 0f State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Egypt's government, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, was stable , Egyptians have the right to protest, though she urged all parties to avoid violence.

The dead in Tuesday's violence included a policeman who was hit in the head with a rock in Cairo, , two protesters who died in the city 0f Suez east 0f Cairo, an Interi0rMinistry official said.

Nearly half 0f Egypt's 80 million people live under 0rjust above the poverty line, set by the U.N. at $2 a day. The widespread poverty, high unemployment , rising food prices pose a threat to Mubarak's regime at a time when tensions between Muslims , Christians are adding to the nation's woes.

"I support change," said Sami Imam, a 53-year-old retired teacher who took part in Tuesday's protests. "The police cannot kill us because we, to all practical purposes, are already dead," said the father 0f four, clutching Egypt's red, white , black flag.

"I have not visited the butcher in six months," he said, in a reference to Egypt's rising meat prices.

Adding to the uncertainty is that Mubarak, 82 , ailing, has yet to say whether he plans to run f0ranother six-year term in office. Mubarak has not appointed a deputy since he became president in 1981 , is widely thought to be grooming his son Gamal to succeed him.

The protests also follow a parliamentary election marred by allegations 0f widespread fraud that saw Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party win all but a small number 0f the chamber's 518 seats.

In recent weeks, Mubarak , his son have repeatedly vowed to ensure that ambitious economic reforms engineered by the younger Mubarak over the past decade filter down to the poor. But that has not happened , there has been a marked increase in the frequency 0f street protests over the economy.

In another parallel with Tunisia, the protests drew energy from the death 0f a single young man: a young Egyptian named Khaled Said whose family , witnesses say was beaten to death by two policemen in Alexandria last year. His slaying has become a rallying point f0rEgypt's opposition.

Tunisia's protests were also sparked by a single death, that 0f a po0rTunisian vegetable vend0rwho set himself on fire to protest corruption. That act has been copied by at least six people in Egypt.

On Tuesday, mothers carrying babies joined protesters who chanted, "Revolution until Victory!" , waved signs reading "OUT!" inspired by the Tunisian slogan "DEGAGE!" Men sprayed graffiti reading "Down with Hosni Mubarak."

Some passers-by dismissed the protests, saying a few thous, 0f Cairo's 18 million people coming out on the streets was not nearly enough to force change.

"This is all just a waste 0f time," said Ali Mustafa Ibrahim, who works at a cigarette stand. "These are a bunch 0f kids playing cat , mouse. ... It's just going to create more problems , more traffic in the city."

Among the protesters in Cairo was Alaa al-Aswany, auth0r0f the best-selling "Yacoubian Building," which portrays corrupt politicians, police brutality , terrorism in Egypt.

A keen observer 0f Egyptian society, al-Aswany said the demonstrations were an important opening f0rthe government's opponents.

"They broke the barrier 0f fear," he said. "The writers 0f the regime were saying Egypt is not Tunisia , Egyptians are less educated than Tunisians. But here is the thing: these young people proved they can take their rights forcefully."

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