This past weekend, Egyptians continued their revolution with crowds amassing in Cairo’s Tahrir Square for the first independent celebration of International Workers Day since 1952. The demands of the crowd ranged from the renationalization of private sector industry to minimum and maximum wage reforms. Both new and old political and professional organizations were represented in the rally.
While much attention has surrounded the May Day celebrations, this past weekend also marked the three month anniversary of Anger Friday, Egypt’s initial “Day of Rage” of its revolution. On this day, in which tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets, the Mubarak regime cut off all internet and cell phone connections and surrounded mosques hosting Friday prayers – all in anticipation of the mass demonstrations. With a heavy hand, the security apparatus used an unprecedented amount of force; the number of casualties from Anger Friday is still unknown.
Protests continued, however, and, by the end of the day, the regime recalled its riot police as the popular Egyptian army rolled into downtown Cairo in tanks.
Anger Friday represented a turning point in the severity of the protestors’ demands and the level of regime brutality – a dramatic departure from what could have been a series of well-attended protests to instead the beginning of a several week-long battle with the Mubarak regime that resulted in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
These photos were captured at protests on Egypt’s “Day of Rage.” Check out my initial coverage of the eruption of Egypt’s January 25th protest.
This is a crosspost from the Mideaster. You can follow Day on Twitter as @AnnaOfArabia.
