A good background article from the Daily Star on the labor union elections, due to start tomorrow Sunday.
Tag: unions
Thousands demonstrate at Cairo University
Thousands of Muslim Brotherhood and leftist students are demonstrating at the Cairo University campus in Giza, protesting state security’s hassles against opposition candidates running for the student union elections.
The list of candidates certified to run in the elections should have been announced by 3pm. As of the time of writing, it hasn’t. The student activists smelt a fish, expecting the delay to be related to the security going through the names, putting their final touch, and eleminating names of political activists. Demonstrations broke out on campus. The university gate has been reportedly smashed. The students are currently on a sit in, waiting for the lists to be publicized.
The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression has issued a statement denouncing security violations against students in Helwan, Ain Shams and Cairo universities.
UPDATE: The lists were announced sometime after 8pm. About 200 Muslim Brothers were banned by security, according to a MB student I spoke to over the phone. Demonstrations broke out, and the students tried to go out on the streets, only to be met by the Central Security Forces. The troops clashed with protesters violently at the gates of the university. The standoff ended around 9:30pm.
UPDATE: The AFTEE has issued another statement denouncing the security forces’ assaults on students.
Workers For Change protest State Security’s violations
Around 50 activists from Workers For Change and Youth For Change protested for an hour, in front of the Public Prosecutor’s office, against State Security‘s violations against opposition candidates running for seats in the General Federation of Labor Unions. The elections are scheduled to start on 5 November, but already government violations are rampant. State Security is hasseling Leftist and Muslim Brothers candidates, elections posters have been taken down, activists have been also banned from running by security’s stalling their paper work.
Demonstrators were cordoned by CSF troops, but no arrests or scuffles were reported.
UPDATE: Here’s a report from the Daily Star.