CAIRO: The opposition Egyptian National Movement for Change, known as Kefaya, is calling for a new kind of protest on July 23, marking Egypt's 1952 revolution. Instead of street demonstrations, Kefaya is asking citizens to stay in their homes and hang black banners and the Egyptian flag on their buildings and outside their balconies. We aim at training people on new types of strikes. Citizens in Egypt are afraid of going out to demonstrate. They strongly fear the abuse of police forces, so we thought of this new method to pressure the government to bend to people s demands, George Ishaq, one of the founders of Kefaya, told The Daily Star Egypt. Ishaq said that this home sit-in is simple and encouraging to citizens. It might further motivate people to engage in more political participation. It is not a big deal. It will not cost them anything, said Ishaq. However, Ishaq said that trying this new form of protest does not mean that the movement will stop its traditional street demonstrations. The government calls for dialogue and open debates, but those dialogues are really meaningless. They are like the conversations of deaf people, said Ishaq. For many citizens, the Kefaya protests have not changed anything in the current regime, but Ishaq contends that the movement s protests will have a cumulative effect that will eventually pressure the government to make changes. We have patience and determination and we will try all means of demonstrations and strikes to change something one day, said Ishaq. Ahmed Maher, a political activist and a former coordinator in the Kefaya movement, told The Daily Star Egypt that he will participate in the home sit-in although he admits it might not be effective enough to change anything. "I know that the sit-in will most probably change nothing of what is currently happening, but I will still participate and post a black banner because at the end of the day I feel it is my duty to participate, said Maher. He added that the intimidating action of police forces demotivate citizens who lack political awareness from taking part in protests. But MP Mohamed Kwaitah, who represents the ruling National Democratic Party, said that strikes and demonstrations are not an efficient method of pressuring the government. Organizations should work on clearly setting their demands in organized meetings that should be attended by government representatives, he said. "These strikes, and asking people sit-in at home, will not lead to any kind of change, but will rather lead to a major decline in the country's economy. If people stayed home and stopped working to demonstrate for the sake of pressuring the government, this will never lead to development, said Kwaitah.
