Thousands of opposition marched from Hijaz Square in Heliopolis to the presidential palace on Tuesday night to reject the constitutional referendum scheduled for Saturday. “Egypt is for all Egyptians, not for one single group,” said Yehia Negm, a former ambassador who was wounded in Wednesday's clashes outside the palace. “Islam has nothing to do with this ongoing violence.” Protesters climbed the Cinema Palace in Heliopolis and are painting a mural in the space usually reserved for film posters. An army officer told people outside the palace, “The Armed Forces will ensure that the referendum will not be rigged, but it's up to you to go vote. Read between the lines.” Hundreds of Morsy opponents also gathered in Tahrir Square amid chants calling on him to leave power. The demonstrators also demanded the formation of a new Constituent Assembly that reflects national consensus to draft a new constitution. Popular committees set up barbed wire at entrances to the square after violent clashes took place Tuesday morning between street vendors and demonstrators, leaving 11 injured. Meanwhile, Morsy's supporters at mosques in Nasr City chanted slogans praising him, his legitimacy and Sharia law. Mohamed al-Beltagy, secretary of the Freedom and Justice Party in Cairo, warned against attempts to break into the presidential palace, adding that the responsibility for its protection lies with the Republican Guard, the army and the police. “If they fail to protect it, we will,” he said, standing in the middle of the pro-Morsy demonstration. “Our zero hour is the storming in.” Thirty buses were seen parked close to Raba'a al-Adaweya Square that brought demonstrators from other governorates. They were decorated with banners of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and Jama'a al-Islamiya's Construction and Development Party, while there were no banners for the Salafi Nour Party, which is playing a symbolic role in the demonstration. Egyptian television said the absence of the Nour Party made the demonstration look smaller than that held on 1 December titled “Sharia and Legitimacy.” The protesters carried banners urging people to vote for the constitution in order to protect the rights of women, children, workers and farmers. They also carried pictures of those who died in last Wednesday's clashes outside the presidential palace. Residents of the area were angered by protesters blocking the main street, according to a reporter on state TV.
