CAIRO: Human rights and pro-democracy activists from the political opposition staged a day of protests in Downtown Cairo to coincide with the national referendum on amending the constitution. Forty demonstrators from the Kefaya National Movement for Change were held on the steps of the press syndicate since beginning their protest last night at 6 pm. They were surrounded by legions of uniformed state security officers and groups of government-organized thugs. "Most of us have been here since last night, said Kefaya organizer Ahmed Abu Steit, a Kefaya banner flying above his head. "I myself have been here since 5 pm, and I still haven't slept. But I will stay here until the end. According to Abdel Wahab Al-Messiri, the new coordinator of Kefaya, the demonstration is meant to send a message to the regime. "Kefaya has not perished. On the contrary, we are back in full force. And we are coming from many different political movements and backgrounds - we have the Muslim Brotherhood, the revolutionary socialists, the liberals. We have everybody, everybody. Despite Al-Messiri's optimism, a group of young Kefaya activists stared into the crowd with gloomy eyes anxiously smoking cigarettes. They said they had been with the protest for two days. At press time, demonstrators were not allowed to leave the steps of the press syndicate. For some, the situation was desperate. "Let me out, please! screamed one middle-aged woman, tears rolling down her face. "I want to leave. I want to eat, we haven't eaten in so long. Shame on you all, let us out! A number of foreign residents, mainly Americans, took part in the rally chanting along with Kefaya activists. According to witnesses, some foreign protestors were denied exit from the demonstration, while others were free to go. Journalists and on-lookers were pushed from the scene by plain-clothes officers and were repeatedly told they were "breaking the law. Nearby, members of the Lawyers' Syndicate voiced their discontent with the constitutional measures in a loud rally held on the steps of their club. Most of the protesting lawyers were members of the Muslim Brotherhood, although representatives of the Wafd, Tagammu and the Nasserist parties were also present. "Freedom, where are you, where are you? chanted the lawyers, as their flyers fluttered down onto a gathered crowd of onlookers and soldiers from the roof of the syndicate. "The constitution comes between us! The NDP comes between us! Corruption comes between us! Egyptians went to the polls yesterday to vote on 34 amendments to the constitution, which have been widely criticized at home and abroad as undermining democratic reforms.
