Hossam el-Hamalawy
Today Wednesday, Cairo University Socialists are mobilizing a protest in solidarity with Gaza at 11am.
At 12 noon the Socialist Alliance is mobilizing for a solidarity protest in front of the Arab League in Tahrir Sq.
At 3pm, the Muslim Brotherhood are demonstrating in front of the Press Syndicate.
Down with Israel. Down with Mubarak. Victory to the Palestinian Resistance.
Police cracked down on the pro-Gaza protest at the Doctors’ Syndicate, rounding up a number of protesters (I still don’t have accurate figures, but they are more than 14). The police also assaulted photographers, including El-Badeel’s Ahmad Maarouf, confiscating his memory card after threatening to smash his camera.
The 12 October photographers’ protest against police brutality was aborted after the Interior Ministry approached the heads of the Photographers’ Association, begging them to cancel the protest in exchange for assurances from General Hamdi Abdel Kareem (the head of the Interior Ministry’s PR Department) that the photographers would not be touched during protests. Many photographers including myself were PISSED OFF by the cancellation, and knew these promises were bullshit.
Now my question to Mr. Amr Nabil and Mr. Hossam Diab the heads of the association: What do you think of the ongoing crackdown? Are you planning to do something about it? If not, then please leave the young photographers to take action and don’t stand in the way of those who are calling for a photographers’ strike.