Being excluded from Tahrir Square on the third anniversary of the 25 January Revolution was not easy for 22-year-old 6 April Movement member Mohamed Salah. “Any dreams of returning to Tahrir Square were taken from us by supporters of the current regime,” says Salah. Thousands of supporters of the interim authorities occupied Tahrir Square from the early hours of Saturday morning, turning the epicentre of the 2011 revolution that toppled Mubarak into a no-go zone for anyone questioning Egypt's current rulers. 6 April members and Revolutionary Socialists were forced instead to protest in Mohandessin, where a number of other liberal, youth and leftist movements had decided to stage protests. Yet even then it was not easy. Many of those seeking access to the starting point for the demonstrations report finding their way blocked. Security officials say they stopped the 6 April march because they feared clashes would occur between supporters and opponents of the government should they have met in Tahrir Square. A number of the group's members were arrested, following 6 April founder Ahmed Maher into detention. Maher is currently serving three years hard labour after being found guilty of participating in an unlicensed protest following the passing of the recent controversial protest law. The movement had announced on its Facebook page that it would be protesting on 25 January against both the Brotherhood's claims of legitimacy and military rule. “We are in a defining moment,” says 6 April general coordinator Amr Ali. Egypt's current political system is dangerously fractured, he added, which is why the movement is seeking to launch an initiative that could help Egypt's diverse opposition to unify. As crowds attempted to gather in front of Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque in Mohandessin to begin their protest security forces targeted them with a barrage of tear gas. Members of the Constitution Party and Revolutionary Socialists were also present, and as quickly dispersed. By evening the 6 April movement announced it would withdraw from the streets after one of its members, Sayed Wizza, was shot dead in a protest organised in front of the Press Syndicate. The demonstrators had faced overwhelming opposition from local residents who, in the state of febrile polarisation that now characterises political debate in Egypt, refused to distinguish between the terrorist designated Brotherhood and any other group opposed to military rule. The 6 April Movement issued a statement late on Saturday condemning the police's use of force against peaceful demonstrators and accusing the authorities of killing Wizza. “The Ministry of Interior responded to peaceful chants by opening fire,” read the statement posted on the movement's official Facebook page. “We were right when we took the street against an interim government which knows nothing of freedoms and human rights.” On Sunday 6 April members were in the streets of downtown Cairo chanting against the military and interim government before heading to Hilmeyet Al-Zaytoun for Wizza's funeral service. Events on 25 January dramatised the fault lines that divide the political scene three years after Hosni Mubarak was removed. There were mass pro-government — and by extension anti-Brotherhood — celebrations, secular protests opposed to both the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, and pro-Morsi demonstrations violently dispersed by security forces. Amr Bakli, who has made a study of youth movements, believes the 6 April is itself in crisis. Though the group's Facebook page has more than half a million likes it could muster only a few hundred protesters on Saturday. “The movement's leaders were hoping the anniversary would see them regain the public's confidence which was destroyed by Ahmed Maher,” says Bakli, who estimates the active membership to be hovering around the 1,000 mark. The group's leaders did launch an initiative last week seeking to polish its tarnished image and unite political forces around an agreed agenda. It is far from sure that it will succeed in helping the group regain the influence it once enjoyed on the street. “We know many political forces avoid working with us but we will struggle hard in the next few months to meet with all political players in order to find a common causes,” says Walid Shawki, a senior member of the group. Shawki added that in addition to seeking a political consensus the movement is looking to expand its activities and recruit new members in the provinces as it embarks on a new project that aims to raise awareness of political and civil rights among rural Egyptians.
