With only a few hundred vocal supporters left, Mubarak's power base has all but disappeared three months after his fall, reports Khaled Dawoud Behind a huge banner expressing gratitude for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for "supporting us in preserving our symbol and rejecting his insult," a few hundred protesters gathered in front of the state-owned Egyptian television headquarters Monday carrying pictures of former president Hosni Mubarak. They chanted "We love you, ya rayes (our president)," and "With our blood and our souls, we will sacrifice ourselves for you Mubarak." Dozens of army soldiers in riot gear stood in front of the Mubarak supporters. Barbed wires separated them from a smaller number of people gathered near to chant anti-Mubarak slogans. This has been a near daily scene since the prosecutor-general ordered the imprisonment of Mubarak for 15 days on 13 April over corruption charges and allegations that he ordered the killing of peaceful protesters during the 25 January Revolution. The order was renewed for a similar period this week while heated debate rages in the media on whether to transfer Mubarak -- who will turn 83 on 4 May -- to the hospital wing of Tora prison, or to keep him in his spacious suite in Sharm El-Sheikh's International Hospital. "We have been holding protests since the president decided to leave office nearly three months ago in front of Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque in Mohandessin," said Yasser Kamel, a small business owner. "But we decided to come to the TV building to get more attention. Nobody is listening to us. We are being marginalised," he added. The street overlooking the Nile where the TV building lies is one of the busiest in Cairo. Protests by Mubarak's supporters have added to already massively congested traffic at the site. The situation becomes worse when clashes occur between pro- and anti-Mubarak sides. After hours of demonstrating on Monday, as in many previous days, the army and police had to interfere to stop rock throwing as well as small fights between young men. On Monday, one fight broke out when a pro- Mubarak protester came to the opposition camp and cursed, "You are filthy people! You have no shame! Mubarak is your father and your master!" Mubarak supporters were hoping to achieve their largest turnout on Monday, the 29th anniversary of the end of Israel's occupation of Sinai on 25 April 1982. "They want to cancel history," said Ahmed Hafez, an accountant. "This is the man who liberated Egypt's lands and preserved the peace. He built Egypt's infrastructure. Now they insult him daily and claim that he didn't have a single achievement." However, Mubarak's followers were disappointed. Not only did but a few hundred people show up, but a series of opinion polls -- local and international -- have confirmed that the popularity of Mubarak is at its lowest ebb. A poll released Monday by the US-based Pew Global Attitudes Project found only 13 per cent of 1,000 surveyed held favourable views of Mubarak. Over his lengthy years in power, Mubarak usually won single candidate ballots to renew his presidential term by over 90 per cent. Only in 2005, when he agreed to multi-candidate elections, 86 per cent of Egyptians ostensibly voted for Mubarak. His main opponent, Ayman Nour, won only seven per cent of the vote. Nour later served four years in prison on charges of forgery. Adding to the fury of Mubarak's followers was a ruling by Cairo's Administrative Court last week to remove Mubarak's name -- and that of his wife, Suzanne Mubarak -- from all public buildings and streets. "They can remove what banners they want, but they will never remove Mubarak from our hearts," said Mahmoud El-Banna, a schoolteacher, standing beneath a banner that read, "No to questioning Mubarak or holding him accountable." El-Banna said that Mubarak's mistake was "that he decided to leave office. After this decision, we see nothing but chaos." For pro-Mubarak demonstrators, the recent corruption cases filed against him, his sons, top ministers and scores of businessmen are fake and "a result of political pressure from Tahrir Square", according to Riham Rabie, one of the rally organisers. She vehemently denied allegations that the pro-Mubarak supporters were mainly members of the former ruling National Democratic Party, which the same court also ordered dissolved in a separate ruling, or that they received money to hold their demonstrations. Rabie said that supporters of Mubarak organise through the Internet and social websites like Facebook -- the same tools Mubarak's opponents used to ignite the 25 January Revolution. As protesters started chanting "The people want freedom for the president", Rabie said: "We want a fair trial for the president, away from public pressure." She also criticised the "intentional humiliation" of Mubarak. "In all cases in the world where investigations against former presidents are conducted, they were never taken to prison. They want to insult the man who protected this country for 30 years." But such arguments are unconvincing for Mubarak's opponents. "This man was a thief who forged every single election and deprived Egyptians of basic rights," said Hani Fouad, a student. "Mubarak supporters are now using Saudi Arabia and UAE to prevent the trial of the president. But we Egyptians will never be bought," he added. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have denied reports that relations with Egypt were strained by Cairo's decision to try the former president. However, the fact that supporters of Mubarak carried pictures of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia during their protest could only fuel suspicions to the contrary. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, who was sharply criticised by Mubarak supporters for announcing that he belonged to the 25 January Revolution, started a tour of oil-rich Gulf countries on Monday, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, in a clear attempt to allay reports of strained relations. (see pp.4-5)
