CAIRO, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Opposition leaders joined a large protest Friday in Tahrir Square in Cairo against the new Egyptian constitution and the power it gives President Mohamed Morsi.
Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, and former presidential candidates Hamdeen Sabbahi and Amr Moussa promised to spend the night in the square, the Egypt Independent reported.
ElBaradei said via Twitter Morsi "and his constituent assembly are currently staging a coup against democracy. Regime legitimacy fast eroding," Ahram Online reported
The Constitutional Declaration was passed early Friday, despite walkouts by liberal and leftist lawmakers. The quick vote on the constitution, which caught many by surprise, was the topic of Friday prayers in Tahrir Square, witnesses told Ahram Online.
Protesters chanted "leave" and "the people want to bring down the regime," as they were finishing Friday prayers, witnesses said.
A sheik leading prayers in the square told protesters the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists tainted Islamic Sharia law and accused the once-outlawed Brotherhood of taking advantage of the "blood of the martyrs" of last year's revolution that culminated in the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak to secure power.
ElBaradei said the constitution "belongs in the garbage can of history" in an interview with Egyptian private television channel al-Nahra Thursday.
Security forces built barricades around Tahrir Square before the protests, Ahram Online said. Protesters at entrance checkpoints clogged the streets as they were searched before being allowed to enter.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment