Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians continue to occupy the streets of the main cities of the country in protest "against the Islamic regime", despite the risk of clashes with supporters of the president, which have already cost eight dead and hundreds wounded.
Yesterday, millions of people have accepted the appeal of the "Tamarod" (The Rebel) movement to take to the streets to demand the resignation of Mohamed Morsi. The group, formed by young protagonists of the 2011 revolution against Mubarak, has collected over 20 million signatures in a month traveling around the country: from the metropolis of Cairo and Alexandria to the villages of Upper Egypt.
"We will stay until Morsi resigns,"
said Hawash Heikel, a lawyer of 58 and former Muslim Brotherhood voter, who
spent the night in Tahrir Square. "I
have traveled hundreds of miles from Menoufiya (Nile Delta) to Cairo. Several
thousand have come from my city to say that when we went to the polls, the
president signed a contract with his constituents, which has now been violated".
According
to the organizers, this is the largest popular demonstration ever in Egypt. Unlike
in 2011, the protests did not involve only Cairo, but all of Egypt. Yesterday
more than 100 thousand people filled the streets of Alexandria. Other
huge marches passed through the city of Mansura, Menuf, Suez, Tanta, Mahalla,
Suez and Assiut. The
latter saw the most violent clashes between anti-Morsi protesters and supporters
of the Muslim Brotherhood, which have caused at least seven deaths.
The
oceanic protests do not seem to have shaken the president from his positions. Interviewed
by the BBC, he reiterated his
determination to overcome what he calls "an anti-democratic attack." However,
the Islamist leader says he is "available" to review the new
constitution, stressing that the clauses inspired by sharia were not his choice.