A number of marches which headed for Tahrir Square last Friday are intended to be the beginning of a large wave of protests climaxing on 30 June, the first anniversary of President Mohamed Morsi's presidency. A million-man protest is scheduled to be held in front of the presidential palace on 30 June to call for early presidential elections. Only a few thousand protesters demonstrated on Friday to raise public awareness over the Tamarod or Rebel campaign, whose organisers say they have already gathered more than three million signatures to withdraw confidence from Morsi and press for early presidential polls. Despite the low turnout on Friday, four marches headed towards the square from various meeting points that included the Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo, Mohandessin district's Mustafa Mahmoud Square, Dawaran Shubra Square as well as central Cairo's Sayeda Zeinab Mosque. “Overall, the demonstrations on 17 May came out fine,” said Haitham Al-Shawaf, general coordinator of the Alliance of the Revolutionary Forces. The aim behind the day was to start a movement of revolutionary masses in the streets, not more, he said. “There has not been any revolutionary marches on the streets recently and the response of citizens to take to the streets even in small numbers is a positive thing,” Al-Shawaf added. The Friday demonstration was called for by a number of opposition groups, including the Dostour Party of former UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed Al-Baradei and the 6 April movement which spearheaded the 2011 revolution to oust then president Hosni Mubarak, in addition to the Free Front for Peaceful Change, the Popular Current and the Free Egyptians Party as well as other revolutionary movements. “The mobilisation is planned to continue to 30 June, coinciding with the success of Tamarod in increasing the number of signatures,” he added. Dozens of Tamarod campaigners collected signatures of no-confidence in Morsi from pedestrians passing by Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday. The marchers stopped passersby, handing them petitions, with many signing them. The campaign's organisers aim to gather 15 million signatures, more than the 13 million who voted for Morsi in the second round of presidential elections, in time for 30 June in an effort to pressure him into calling for early presidential elections. Organisers announced more than a week ago that they had collected 2,029,592 signatures nationwide already. “We notified most of the revolutionary youth groups responsible for the anti-Morsi petition so as to inform the signatories that they had already taken a stance towards a fascist regime though the issue is not merely a signature. However, whoever signed the petition still has a responsibility to mass in the square and participate in the demonstrations on 30 June. “Most of the secular political forces have a role to play. They have to inform, explain and confirm to ordinary people that the future under the Muslim Brotherhood's regime is much worse than the current situation,” Al-Shawaf said. The leftist and liberal forces, he added, should mobilise and interact with citizens to encourage them to participate and demonstrate in the streets again. “This won't be achieved through the press conferences political partied hold in which they announce their participation. We saw a lot of civilian political forces announcing their participation in last Friday's demonstrations, but not one appeared in the square,” Al-Shawaf said. As for the anticipated demonstration on 30 June, Al-Shawaf said there were many activities and campaigns that will operate in parallel with Tamarod throughout the 30-day month of June. “Many campaigns were initiated so as to make the people aware of their rights and mobilise them against the policies of the Muslim Brotherhood to unify the Egyptians in one front against the regime,” he explained. The Revolutionary Forces Bloc announced that the protesters will march in five crowded rallies starting from 28 June, towards Tahrir Square. The starting points are scheduled to be from Giza, Mohandessin, Sayeda Zeinab, Shubra and Imbaba and the demands will be to overthrow the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood. After reaching Tahrir Square, the protesters will stage a two-day sit-in. With the coming of 30 June, the crowds will march towards the presidential palace until the president is toppled, the bloc added. “The Revolutionary Forces Bloc is now working to form an advisory committee made up of a number of public figures and rejects what is said about the lack of consensus between the generations,” said Tarek Al-Kholi, founders of 6 April, adding that “despite the fact that youths were behind the revolution, we cannot dispense with experienced figures.” Al-Kholi called on various revolutionary forces and the public not to be frustrated regarding the low turnout of last Friday's demonstrations. “It should not be compared or measured by the numbers who demonstrated,” he added. “The Revolutionary Forces Bloc will not participate in any protest during the coming period, but it will continue to distribute leaflets to the people so as to mobilise for 30 June,” Al-Kholi said.
