HUMAN rights activists chided the Press Syndicate on Tuesday for adopting a controversial decision that allows the holding of peaceful protests on the stairs of the Cairobased union once a week only. Hossam Bahgat, the director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Freedom, a non-governmental group, has dismissed the decision, which has not been put into effect yet, as “another setback to the freedom of expression and a contradiction to the Syndicate's long-standing beliefs”. "With this decision, the Press Syndicate is the only loser after its stairs have become a platform and a vibrant voice to all the Egyptians," Bahgat said. He described the decision as an infringement on the freedom of expression, “of which the independent union has been a stalwart supporter and promoter”. However, Bahgat said that Egypt would witness a steady series of protests that underline the present tensions between the people and the Government. "Peaceful protests are not restricted to Cairo alone because they have become a daily phenomenon in all Egyptian cities and villages," he said after hundreds of angry workers and handicapped staged two simultaneous rallies outside the People's Assembly (the Lower House of the Parliament) on Monday demanding more work and social benefits. Meanwhile, Naguib Gubrael, the chairman of the Egyptian Federation for Human Rights Groups, another non -governmental group, said that the decision was another infringement of the freedom of expression in Egypt.
