Forces supporting a civilian state in Egypt insist they will go ahead with a major protest in the famed square on Friday despite intense efforts by the military council to discourage organisers, reports Khaled Dawoud Over the past week, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and members of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's government made a determined effort to dissuade an emerging coalition of so-called forces in support of a civilian state in Egypt from holding a major protest in Tahrir Square tomorrow, on Friday. But the coalition of liberal, leftist, Coptic and, for the first time, Sufi political parties, groups and associations insist on going ahead with their plans, saying they need to confront powerful political Islamic groups after they held their own massive show of force in Tahrir on 29 July. Friday's protest has been dubbed 'In love of Egypt: A Civilian State'. Unnamed top security officials were quoted in several newspapers known for their support of SCAF as warning against any attempt to organise mass demonstrations in Tahrir Square, saying there was no need for any such protests "after nearly all demands of the 25 January Revolution were met". Security officials referred to the recent trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak whose proceedings were aired live all over the world on 3 August. The second session of the trial will be held on Monday 15 August. Mubarak's public trial, together with his two sons and other important members of his regime, was one of the key demands of a few thousand protesters who insisted on staging a sit-in for over three weeks in Tahrir Square in July. That sit-in was dispersed by force on 1 August by the military police and the Central Security Forces which is affiliated to the Interior Ministry. Since then, hundreds of military police soldiers and anti-riot police have replaced the protesters in Tahrir. Sporadic clashes have occurred whenever small groups of protesters attempted to get close to the main circle in the middle of the square. A week ago, army and police soldiers dispersed by force hundreds of protesters in Tahrir after they held a Ramadan Iftar in the square. The country's military leaders, together with the Muslim Brotherhood and other political Islamic groups, have maintained that the majority of Egyptians want to see life return to normal and an improvement in the economy rather than more protests, demonstrations and blocking major streets such as Tahrir Square. However, that argument seemed not to persuade the opposing growing coalition of liberal and leftist groups who believe the future of democracy and the civilian nature of the Egyptian state is at stake. They also insist on preserving their right to demonstrate in Tahrir, saying this was the place where Egyptians gathered for three weeks to topple Mubarak, and that it should remain open for protests as a symbol of Egypt's first popular revolution. On 29 July the Muslim Brotherhood, numerous extremist Salafi parties, Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya (the Islamic group charged with assassinating former president Anwar El-Sadat in 1981 and the 1997 Luxor massacre in which 62 people were killed), the Jihad Group, and other extremist Islamic political parties held an over one-million man demonstration in Tahrir Square to demand an Islamic state in Egypt and the application of Sharia law. Some protesters held pictures of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, assassinated by US Special Forces in early May, while others waved Saudi flags. Gad complained that pro-government newspapers have replaced ousted Mubarak with SCAF, publishing one false report after the other, claiming deep splits between organisers of tomorrow's demonstration and that it would be cancelled or postponed. "We will go ahead despite all this pressure. We are aware that the military council doesn't want this protest held but we also know that it is not willing to confront a large number of people if we managed to mobilise our forces," Gad told Al-Ahram Weekly. He also said it was leftist and liberal youth groups that sparked the 25 January Revolution, "and experience has also taught us that the military council does not respond to key demands, including Mubarak's trial, without pressure from the street." Informed sources told the Weekly that they expected a few hundred thousand people to show up in Tahrir on Friday. Plans are to hold a Ramadan Iftar in the square, in which representatives of the Coptic community will take part, followed by a demonstration that will stress the demand for a civilian state in Egypt where democratic and minority rights will be respected and guaranteed. A lengthy meeting was held between the coalition of forces organising tomorrow's demonstration and Prime Minister Sharaf until the early morning hours of Wednesday to discuss the possibility of postponing the protest by one week. Sharaf implied the government would even take part in the protest if it was postponed, and that he would issue a statement in support of a civilian state in Egypt. However, Sheikh Alaa Abul-Azaim, one of the major organisers of the protest and the spiritual leader of the large Azmiya Sufi order in Egypt, told reporters there was no change of plans. The emergence of a key Sufi group as a member of a coalition of mainly liberal and leftist forces was seen as a major development since Mubarak was ousted six months ago. Extremist political Islamic groups, especially Salafis, have a long history of animosity towards Sufis many of whose practices they consider contrary to strict Islamic teachings. Making use of the lack of security over the past six months, extremist Islamic groups have attacked and destroyed a few shrines of major Sufi figures because they consider the annual festivals and visits to those shrines by Sufi followers to be un-Islamic. Besides the expected participation of Sufis, usually known for their lack of interest in politics, organisers also believe big numbers of Coptic Christians will take part. A majority of Egypt's Christians strongly oppose political Islamic groups and have expressed concern that if they managed to win parliamentary elections in November, they would draft the constitution in a way that would not fully grant them equal status as Egyptian citizens. Mustafa Abdel-Gelil, president of the National Association for Change, told reporters that participants in the meeting with Sharaf assured him that the protest will break up by midnight on Friday, and that there were no plans to stage yet another sit-in at the square. Sources close to the military council told the Weekly that the army generals "have lost nearly all patience with the continuation of demonstrations and protests and will not tolerate any new sit-ins or the blocking of Tahrir Square." Abdel-Gelil added that Sharaf told them that while he respected their right to protest and to express their views peacefully, he was worried about any possible clashes or splits among protesters if some tried to organise a sit-in. The Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, the Supreme Council for Sufi Orders and a few liberal figures have come out in support of SCAF and its efforts to cancel tomorrow's protest. Salama Ahmed Salama, a respected columnist at the daily Al-Shorouk, expressed fear that the planned protest was only likely to deepen existing splits in Egypt between secular and Islamist forces. Salama wrote in yesterday's column that organisers of that protest should have concentrated more on the upcoming parliamentary elections and mobilising citizens to vote for them instead of organising demonstrations in Tahrir.
