Heavy security in Tahrir ahead of cabinet clashes march

Police forces intensify security in Tahrir Square on Monday, as a march commences from the Opera House headed towards the cabinet building, in commemoration of the second anniversary of the cabinet clashes.

On December 16, 2011, violence erupted outside the cabinet building between protesters and military forces, which continued for five days and resulted in 17 deaths, according to a statement released by the field clinic at the site of the clashes.

State television announced on Monday that the Interior Ministry had not received any notification of planned protests to commemorate the clashes, adding that the Ministry would not allow unauthorized demonstrations.

The broadcast re-asserted, as per the new protest law, that unauthorized protesters would be warned three times through loud speakers to disperse, followed by the use of water canons and arrests if necessary.

Civilian and military security forces completely surrounded all entrances to Tahrir Square on Monday, with two armored vehicles guarding the entrance from Qasr al-Nil, another at the entrance of Talaat Harb, in addition to two in Simon Bolivar Square and more vehicles in front of the Egyptian Museum.

Several groups announced that they would march from the Opera house to the cabinet building to commemorate the events. The organizers, which include 6 April Movement, the Revolutionary Socialists group and families of those who died in the clashes, announced in a statement that they didn’t seek the authorization of the Interior Ministry to protest because of their objection to the law, which they maintain limits the freedom of peaceful assembly.

The law, issued in November, obliges protesters to obtain a permit from the Interior Ministry three days ahead of protests.

Twenty-five were arrested while protesting without authorization in front of the Shura Council in late November, and referred to criminal court on charges of violating the new law in addition to rioting and resisting authorities.

The cabinet clashes were made especially notorious by a widely circulated picture of a female protester, who was stripped down to her blue bra and severely beaten by military forces. Those killed include Al-Azhar scholar Emad Eddin Effat and medical student Alaa Abde Hady.

The organizers of Monday’s commemorative protest said in their statement that, despite the efforts of the families of the victims, there has been no formal inquiry into events.

An independent pressure group, “We will pursue you with the report,” issued a statement today on the lack of justice for those who died. The group is using the “fact-finding report,” issued by a state-commissioned committee in 2012, to push for legal action against those responsible for the killing of protesters over the past three years.

The statement added that no verdict has been announced concerning the cabinet clashes, despite the referral of the case to the criminal courts within five months of the incident.

The group alleges that the new draft constitution, which protects members of the military from prosecution except in military courts, has removed any possibility of holding military officers responsible for the clashes.