Egypt

Heliopolis protest supports the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces

The Youth for Stability Movement and the 19 March Coalition, two ad hoc youth groups, organized a protest on 15 July to support the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) as the rulers of Egypt's transitional period. They dubbed their protest "The Friday of the Silent Majority."

It took place at Roxy Square in Heliopolis, east Cairo, and a few hundred people took part.

Protestors demanded that the results of the 19 March referendum on constitutional amendments be respected. In response to some of their opponents' demands to delegate transitional rule to an interim civilian presidential council, they declared their support of the SCAF's administration of the transitional period.

While the sit-in in Tahrir Square, ongoing since 8 July, has demanded immediate, public trials of the former regime's figures, Roxy's "silent majority" demanded "fair trials".

They also demanded an investigation into the political groups who took part in the 25 January revolution, to reveal who has received foreign funding.

Adel Naguib, of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, accused some of those participating in the Tahrir sit-in of being funded by foreign organizations to hinder the development of the country.

The Roxy protesters also demanded an investigation into the identity of the revolution's martyrs to make sure they deserve the "martyr" label. This question has been repeatedly raised by people claiming that those who died while attacking police stations shouldn't be considered martyrs. 

The Roxy protest took place in direct response to the Tahrir sit-in, where discontent with the SCAF's performance is mounting. There, calls for the SCAF to relinquish power have been abundant. 

"We are not against the demands of those in Tahrir Square," said Samah, a housewife participating in the Roxy protest. 

She criticized protesters in Tahrir for occasionally changing their demands and for raising the ceiling of them to overthrow the SCAF.

"We are still afraid to walk in the streets so we want the army to protect us," she said. "The Tahrir tents will not control 85 million Egyptians." 

Agreeing with Samah, Samia Zein al-Abedien, a journalist who participated in the protest, said, "Our army is not like its counterparts in Libya or other Arab countries that kill their people." 

Zein al-Abedien called upon the silent majority to speak up and announce their refusal of the Tahrir camp's demands to oust the SCAF. "Our enemies, who want Egypt to fall, destroyed the police and the media. Now they are working to destroy our relationship with the army," she said.

People chanted "the people, the police, the judiciary and the army are one hand" and displayed a huge photo of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the SCAF.

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