After Friday's Second Day of Anger youth groups continue to struggle to find a clear voice, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky It was almost 10am when Said Mahmoud, 36, arrived at Tahrir Square for last Friday's mass demonstration, dubbed the "Second Day of Anger". Mahmoud was determined to participate in the protest to call for the prosecution of ousted president Hosni Mubarak for his alleged involvement in ordering the killing of peaceful protesters. For Said it was a day of reckoning of sorts. His best friend Mohamed was among the many martyrs killed by security forces on 28 January. An estimated 100,000 took part in the protest, demanding that the Higher Council of Armed Forces (HCAF) speed up the prosecution of Mubarak and his regime's senior officials. "This demonstration is not intended to challenge any particular group or the military but to present the demands of people who have devoted themselves to saving the revolution," said Sheikh Mazhar Shahin in a Friday prayer address. Shahin stressed the need to maintain unity among youth groups and the importance of the military and people working together, emphasising that Egypt's current rulers must respect the demands of the people. "Yes, we call on the people to respect and appreciate the role of the military for making our beloved country stable and safe. However, the ruler must respect the people. It is time to answer the call of this great nation and listen to the voice of the young," Shahin said. Four stages were set up in the square, each hosting political groups of differing persuasions. While they were unanimous in demanding an end to military trials of civilians and the speeding up of the trials of ex-regime figures, including the former president, that was as far as any consensus went. The Youth Revolution Coalition (YRC) used last Friday's protest to call for the dismantling of municipal councils, the resignation of some governors and a delay in holding parliamentary elections. Other groups, including leftists and socialists, used the event to demand the military hand power to a civilian presidential council and delay parliamentary elections until a new constitution is drafted. By midnight most of the crowd had dispersed though a couple of hundred protesters remained to stage a sit-in. They used banners and placards to erect a mini makeshift camp. In a communiqué released the day before the protest, the HCAF said that "the sons and daughters of this country, who have rewritten the history of modern Egypt through a peaceful revolution that has awed the world, have the right to peaceful protest." It also announced that the Armed Forces would not be present during the protest so as to avoid tensions and that the youth of the revolution would be responsible for organising and securing the demonstration. Many commentators argue that Friday's protest attracted such a large crowd because of the announcement of the Muslim Brotherhood that it would boycott the event. The turnout, they believe, reflects anti-Islamist sentiment. In the referendum held in March on 11 constitutional amendments proposed by the HCAF the Muslim Brotherhood came out in favour of a yes vote. The amendments were subsequently passed with 77.2 per cent of voters in favour. On Saturday the Muslim Brotherhood said that it was withdrawing from the YRC, announcing that from henceforth it had no official representation in any youth group. "There are no representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Youth Revolution Coalition," said Muslim Brotherhood Secretary-General Mahmoud Hussein in a press release. YRC responded by saying that representatives from Youth of the Muslim Brotherhood were still members of the YRC and that the Muslim Brotherhood should respect the decisions of its younger cadres. "Our legitimacy does not come from the Guidance Bureau of the Muslim Brotherhood. Their withdrawal statement means nothing," said coalition member Shadi El-Ghazali Harb. The "Second Day of Anger" came after months of growing tension between the HCAF and youth movements. On 10 April the YRC, along with other youth groups, suspended weekly meetings with the HCAF. The decision to halt dialogue was made a day after army police dispersed protesters by force on 9 April. Khaled Abdel-Hamid, a member of YRC, said that despite the many demands made during the demonstration, the clear objective was "to maintain public pressure to secure the full implementation of the demands of the revolution". "We do not want the HCAF to make decisions on Egypt's democratic future without consulting the public. We are also calling for a new constitution to be drafted ahead of the parliamentary elections," he said. Recently analysts have criticised the YRC for its failure to play an effective role in defusing sectarian tensions or address Egypt's ongoing economic crisis. In a move clearly intended to contain the anger of the youth movements the HCAF invited all youth groups to a dialogue on Wednesday. Many agreed to attend, though the YRC refrained, saying it would contemplate such a meeting only after the HCAF called a halt to the prosecution of civilians before military courts. In a separate statement the YRC announced that it will publish a roadmap for the transition within days and present it to the military council.
