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Hundreds of Egyptians gather in central Cairo to protest emergency law

16 September 2011 19:17 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Hundreds of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square in the center of Cairo Friday to protest the activation of the country’s emergency law, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) declared the activation of the Emergency Law after protestors stormed the Israeli embassy in Cairo last Friday.

"Say no for the Emergency Law, no for the military trials for the civilians, and no for militarization of the state," are among the slogans of the protestors.

Salafists formed the largest group among the protestors as they consider the SCAF’s decision meant suppression of the citizens’ freedom.

Meanwhile, Freedom and Justice party (FJP) affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood announced Wednesday its boycott to the demonstrations.

"Egypt now is undergoing a very serious period, so it needs more stability and the Egyptians need to be united," said Mohamed el-Katatny, secretary general of the FJP, in a statement.

The major youth group, "April Sixth" movement, was also absent from the demonstration, as what they said the calls for the demonstrations "came late" so they didn’t prepare for it.

On the other hand, a wave of anger swept many Egyptian citizens in the streets, as they see these kinds of gatherings obstacle their normal life and always end up with terrible incidents.

"We are fed up with such callings for rally, we want to focus on work and normal life, not on such protests usually leading to chaos. What happened last Friday is an alarm for protest gatherings," Abo Fares, an Arabic teacher, told Xinhua.