Activists and students called on Facebook for civil disobedience all over Egypt starting on 11 February, the first anniversary of the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. The "Third Revolution of Anger " Facebook page was established by activists because the ruling military council "refused to listen to the opinion of the millions who took to streets on 25 January 2012 to demand handing over power to an elected president before drafting the Constitution." The page called for a general strike to push the military council to leave power and expedite a peaceful transfer of power to an elected civilian authority. "This is just the beginning of civil disobedience. All that is required from you is that you sit at home, and if you are obliged to go out, then strike at the company, factory, school, or university," the page said. The initiative was applauded by many activists as a means of peaceful protest and a solution to help stanch the blood that has been flowing since last Wednesday, when a football disaster in Port Said killed at least 71 people. Many Twitter users and popular Facebook groups adopted the initiative and put the same poster as their profile pictures to publicize the event. Some revolutionary groups, trade unions and student groups supported the initiative, including the "Second Revolution of Anger," the Alliance of Revolutionary Forces and the Revolutionary Socialists. Egypt's universities also called for a strike on 11 February to protest the continuing hold of the military junta onto power and in response to the Port Said disaster. The Cairo University Student Union called for a study strike in all university faculties on 11 February, until the departure of the military and the immediate punishment of the criminals responsible for the Port Said deaths. The Union of Students in Egypt issued a statement condemning the Port Said massacre, entitled "Our patience ran out." The statement said that what has happened is a "major plot to abort the revolution and punish the Egyptian people on the eve of the first anniversary of the Battle of Camel," in reference to an attack on protesters last year involving armed assailants on horse and camel back. The Union of Students in Egypt, which represents more than 3.5 million university students, holds the military junta and the cabinet fully and directly responsible for the lax security situation and the bloody Port Said event, said the statement. It called for the hand over of power, warning of what it called "the impatience of the university street" and announced a three-day mourning period. The statement said the union canceled a press conference scheduled to be held on the regulations of the union. "We, the Union of Students of Egypt, announce that our motto has become, like the motto of each student in Egypt now, 'Down with the military rule,' " it said. The student unions of the German, American and French universities in Egypt issued statements expressing their sorrow over those killed in Port Said, mentioning in particular Karim Khouzam, a German University student, and Omar Mohsen, an American University student. The unions said they will participate in the general strike until the military council hands over power and the cabinet is held accountable for the Port Said disaster.
