CAIRO: Popular politician and public figure Gameela Ismail is running for parliament as an independent in Cairo's sixth district, which includes downtown Cairo and Tahrir Square. On Saturday, Ismail suspended her parliamentary campaign in response to the “criminal actions” of Egyptian police against civilians. “Elections and winning a seat in parliament mean nothing if, on the journey to the seat, you give up the demands of the revolution,” Ismail told Youm7 on Monday as clashes raged on for a third day. Clashes began after military police forces cleared the remnants of Friday's demonstration from the square on Saturday morning. Egyptian activists responded by returning to the square in droves. At least 25 have been killed over the past three days, according to Ministry of Health figures. “If they are insisting on using these criminal tools against revolutionaries, against activists, against Egyptians who want to maintain their rights, they [the authorities] are going to face worse acts,” said Ismail. “It is a very clear message the youth have been delivering to the authorities: you [the youth] get shot in your eye, in your body, you go to the hospital or to surgery, and then, if you are still alive, you go back to Tahrir,” she said. “This injury symbolizes the hope of young Egyptians now,” said Ismail. “They will not shut up.” Ismail is running as an independent for the People's Assembly, the lower house of Egypt's bicameral parliament. Elections are slated to begin next Monday, November 28, but many fear the ongoing violence in Tahrir Square will result in a postponement of elections.
