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Tunisia-style Rallies Planned in Egypt

   VOA News  25 January 2011

   Tens  of  thousands  of  Egyptians have pledged to participate in mass
   demonstrations  planned  for  Tuesday  by  a  coalition  of opposition
   groups, despite government warnings they face a security crackdown and
   arrest.
   Those  planned  rallies  in  Cairo  and several other cities have been
   promoted  online  by  groups  saying  they  speak  for young Egyptians
   frustrated  by  the  kind of poverty and oppression that triggered the
   popular revolt in Tunisia.
   Activists  from  Egypt's  Kifaya  ((Enough)) movement - a coalition of
   government  opponents  - and the 6th of April Youth Movement organized
   the protests on the Facebook  and Twitter social networking websites,
   to push for economic reforms and wider political freedoms.
   At  least  87,000 Facebook  followers indicated they would attend the
   rallies,  but  the  potential for a heavy security crackdown makes the
   actual turnout hard to predict.
   Legal  parties  such as the liberal Wafd, as well as the banned Muslim
   Brotherhood  -  Egypt's  largest and best organized opposition group -
   have  not  formally endorsed the demonstrations, but have said some of
   their members will take part.
   Emergency laws in place since 1981 outlaw demonstrations without prior
   permission.  Opposition groups say they have been denied such permits,
   and  Egyptian security forces have a track record of dealing violently
   with protesters.
   The  rallies  are planned to coincide with a national holiday honoring
   the  police,  a  key force in keeping President Hosni Mubarak in power
   for the last 30 years.
   Since  Tunisia's  January  14 revolution, at least five Egyptians have
   attempted  suicide  by  self-immolation,  imitating the young Tunisian
   whose burning death in December first galvanized protesters there.
   The  Egyptian government has played down the self-immolation attempts,
   saying those who committed the act were driven by "personal issues."
   Nearly  half of Egypt's 80 million people live under or just above the
   poverty   line.   Poor   quality   education,  health  care  and  high
   unemployment  have  left  large numbers of Egyptians deprived of basic
   needs.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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