CAIRO: Medical sources in Cairo's Tahrir Square have reported at least 10 people have been taken to hospitals after collapsing from the heat and sun exposure during Friday's massive demonstrations. At the same time as this news was being reported, the 6th of April youth movement announced they would be withdrawing from the “Friday of Unity,” but added they would remain in the square to continue the sit-in they joined on July 8. 34 other political groups also announced their withdrawal from the “Million Man March for Unity,” or “Friday of Unity” at a press conference held around 5 pm, at Cairo's press syndicate, in objection to how the march has turned out. The statement said that different political and revolutions groups had said of the agreement made with various Islamic groups in “putting aside points of disagreements and uniting under harmonic ones to keep the unity of the revolution” had failed. The groups said they were surprised to see a “great breach” of these agreements with Islamists holding religious slogans and banners and distributing statements of a religious nature. The groups said they are committed to peaceful methods of protests and expression and have thus decided to remove themselves from the Friday of Unity yet plan to remain strong in square as part of their sit-in demanding reform and democracy. The groups include the 6th of April movement, the Revolution Youth Coalition, al-Karama party, the Communist party, the Kefaya movement and others. They highlighted their principal demands of the rights of the martyrs' families, trying officers who are accused of shooting protesters during the January revolution, setting a minimum and a maximum wage, putting a clear schedule for elections and the immediate halt to trying civilians in military courts. “Finally the protesters of Tahrir affirm the continuation of the revolution no matter how costly it becomes, and for the martyrs we refuse all the deals made by powers which decided to put its direct and selfish interests [ahead] and to put it before the revolution in contradiction to the notion that this Friday march would be the peak of pressure to continue the revolution's path,” the statement read. BM
