CAIRO: Hundreds of outraged journalists and political activists turned out in force at the Press Syndicate Saturday evening to support suspended Karama MP Saad Aboud. In a double helping of conference followed by a demonstration on the steps of the syndicate, the Egyptian opposition rallied together under the banner of Aboud to express their anger at the decision. Despite the formal set-up of the conference room, battle cries erupted at various intervals by veteran political figures such as Nasserist tax collector Kamal Abou-Eita and Kefaya activist Zeinab Al-Hag to be chanted back by the participants. "Say it Saad, say it strong and don't be bothered about anybody else, either we'll live free on this land or we'll die together side by side was one of the many spirited chants bouncing round the walls of the auditorium. Among those who spoke were independent MP Alaa Abdel Moneim and Mohammed El-Omda, who, as previously reported in Daily News Egypt, is subject to appear before a morals committee for charging towards the podium during the voting on Aboud's suspension. Abdel Moneim spoke in detail on the flimsy legal basis of Aboud's suspension, reiterating that Aboud did not violate any stipulation of the constitutional Article 377, which lists the conditions under which a member of the People's Assembly can be suspended. "This is a message to the opposition as a whole, declared Abdel Moneim, "Saad has been made a scapegoat, but we know the legality of the case, and we own the streets. The National Democratic Party has done us a favor: It has united the opposition by showing its true colors. After a climactic build-up by fellow politicians, Aboud took to the podium to retell his ordeal and explain the charges of corruption he has publicly leveled against those in power. Telling the story of an old woman who had tried to save LE 12,000 to perform the hajj, the politician-turned-national hero described how he repeatedly gathered hard evidence to take the case of the missing LE 115 million directly to the Ministry of Interior."I collected the evidence against them and I brought it to the Minister of Interior. Fathi Sorour answered me with a note, saying it was forbidden to talk about it, and then said that I couldn't make a case against a ministry, only against an individual."I urge you to raise a case, a legal case unrelated to politics. We will achieve a historical political case, and we will fight corruption. Those present took to the steps of the syndicate, where, armed with a microphone, they continued to chant slogans accompanied by a minimal police presence.
