CAIRO: Negations are currently underway between different political groups and movements to reach consensus over a protest and iftar banquet planned for Friday in Tahrir Square. A number of political forces and Sufi orders had earlier announced their intention to hold a million-man protest followed by a grand iftar to reiterate their calls for a civil state, while others suggested naming it a protest for the love of Egypt. "We haven't reached consensus yet as to the location and goal of the protest or whether my group will take part or not," Abdel-Rahman Samir, a member of the Revolution's Youth Coalition told Daily News Egypt. "We need to have a clear goal before participating in the iftar or protest. But it should not be intended as a [challenge] to Salafis," he added. Samir added that representatives of political forces, Sufis, Christian groups, the Shia minority are expected to hold a number of meetings within the coming 48 hours to decide their stances. April 6 youth movement official spokesman Mohamed Adel said his group will participate in the event, adding that the final touches are to be decided during the coming meetings. "Most probably it will be a mass iftar in Tahrir Square as well as a protest for the love of Egypt that starts just before the Marghreb prayer [at sunset] and gathers all political powers," Adel told DNE. On Friday, military and central security police forcefully dispersed a gathering of a few dozen activists holding a public iftar in Tahrir, just days after the iconic square was cleared by force of protesters who had been holding an open sit-in at the square since July 8. "This time they won't be able to prevent one million people from having iftar in the square," Adel said. "We reject such acts altogether. Any area in Egypt is a space for people to express themselves," he added. However, Mohamed Abdel-Khaliq El-Shabrawy, Sheikh of El-Shabraweya Sufi order, was quoted on Saturday by the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) as saying that Sufi groups may decide to hold the event at an alterative location to avoid traffic congestion. He added that Sufi orders agreed to dub the event a protest for the love of Egypt and national unity. Meanwhile, in a recent statement the National Association for Change (NAC) called on Egyptians from all political groups to join a mass iftar on Friday in Tahrir to commemorate the 1973 war victory. This Wednesday will mark the 10th of Ramadan in the Hijri Islamic calendar when the Egyptian army crossed the Suez Canal after six years of the Israeli occupation of Sinai. The NAC also said in the statement that during the event it plans to reiterate the earlier demands of previous protests regarding deeper reforms and the rights of the victims of the January 25 uprising and their families.
