CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood's Hamdi Hassan, a member of Parliament, invited on Tuesday for all Egyptian activists, politicians and lawyers as well as those symbols of civil society “to participate in the people's march.” It comes as the government and the opposition continue to butt heads over the future of the country. Earlier this week, a member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), during a heated argument with Brotherhood MPs, said that police should “shoot protesters” with live ammunition. The comments sparked widespread anger and frustration among the opposition community, who have called on the government to intervene in this violent speech. Hassan's proposed march will go from the garden of Cairo's Omar Makram square all the way to Parliament in order to condemn “the policy of repression and arrests of others towards the justification of political activists and dissidents.” He said he would join the march if activists agreed to participate. Hassan said that the main goal for the march would be “demanding the release of all hostages abducted by security such as student Tareq Khader and blogger and activist Abu Massad Abo Fagr and political prisoners from the MMuslim Brotherhood and university students and all political currents in Egypt.” As well as the condemnation of all of the regime's “repressive practices against the opposition and political exclusion and is exercised by the National Party against all their opponents and an objection to a policy of shooting,” would make up the focal points of the march. It is unclear if the activist community would join Hassan in his calls. The secular opposition and the Islamist Brotherhood have rarely joined forces in recent years to protest against what they both have termed the repression of Egyptians by the government. The last major joining of forces on internal affairs occurred in 2005 after a number of Egyptian judges said there were irregularities in voting during the Parliamentary elections that year. BM
