Egyptian security forces fired tear gas Friday to disperse hundreds of Islamist demonstrators defying a draconian new law restricting protests, which has drawn widespread criticism from democracy advocates and the international community.
Since a popularly backed military coup ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July, his supporters have been staging near-daily protests calling for his reinstatement, with Friday’s weekly Muslim prayers a key time for mobilizing. The rallies have often descended into street clashes with security forces or civilians.
In an effort to quash pro-Morsi rallies, which have persisted despite a heavy security crackdown, the military-backed government issued the law Sunday, banning political gatherings of more than 10 people without a police permit.
Instead, the law has sparked new protests by Egypt’s camp of secular activists, who had been largely muted since the ouster of Morsi, whom they opposed. The past week, security forces have forcefully broken up several protests by secular activists in Cairo. On Thursday, a student was killed when police put down a march by Islamists from Cairo University.
The Interior Ministry, responsible for the police, warned on Thursday that security forces will deal “firmly” with “illegal” protests.
The turmoil comes as a 50-member panel amending the Islamist-drafted constitution passed last year under Morsi prepared to vote today on a final draft. The draft will then be put to a nationwide referendum, expected in January.
The pending vote could further fuel a backlash in the streets. The Islamists reject the entire amendment process and are likely to launch protests against it. Secular activists, meanwhile, are likely to hold their own protests, since they oppose articles in the draft that increase the power of the military and the president.
Friday’s clashes erupted when security forces moved to disperse the scattered protests organized by Islamists across the country. An Interior Ministry aide, Sayyed Shafiq, said at least 60 “rioters” were arrested.
In Cairo’s twin city of Giza, police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse Morsi supporters, according to footage of the scene from Associated Press TV. Protesters burned tires to defuse the tear gas. Anti-Islamist residents joined security forces in chasing the Morsi supporters to side streets, hurling stones and glass bottles at them.
In one protest in eastern Cairo, Islamists chanted, “Down with all killers, down with Abdel-Fattah” referring to Egypt’s army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who led the coup against Morsi.
“We don’t care about the protest law whatsoever,” said Ashraf Abdel-Wahhab, a 42-year-old demonstrator who took part in a Cairo protest with his wife and eight children. “This is not the first time they attack marches or kill protesters. It’s just a cover that they’re using.”
Secular activists did not hold rallies Friday, aiming to avoid association with the Islamists, in part because they saw Morsi as equally undemocratic as the new government.
“Friday is the Brotherhood’s day,” said Mohammed Adel, a leading member of the secular activist group April 6, explaining why his camp was not in the streets.
Secular activists, including those who led the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, accuse the new government of giving free rein to police abuses and military power that the anti-Mubarak uprising had aimed to end. They say the new protest law aims to silence all dissent against the government.
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