CAIRO: Protestors gathered outside the Lawyers' Syndicate yesterday and called for an end to the rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, on his 80th birthday. Around 40 people took part in the demonstration on the steps of the Syndicate, the only protest in the capital on a day when activists on Facebook had called for a general strike throughout Egypt. The call was made last month, a few days after another general strike called for by opposition groups on April 6 in solidarity with textile workers at Ghazl El Mahalla who had announced their intention to strike. Last month streets in Cairo were noticeably empty as many people stayed in their homes through fear of trouble and televised threats of repercussions by the Interior Ministry against anyone taking part in the strike. Over 60 people were arrested in Cairo, and hundreds detained in the Delta town of Mahalla, where protests against rising food prices were violently quashed by security bodies who used live ammunition, resulting in the death of two people including a 15-year-old boy. While there was a heavier than usual security presence in the city's main squares and outside the Lawyers' Syndicate, there were no reports of arrests at press time.
