The Cairo Institute for Human Rights (CIHRS) wishes to express its deep esteem for the Egyptian people who rose up in governorates around the country to loudly proclaim their aspirations for freedom, justice, and human dignity, in peaceful demonstrations on January 25, 2011, that were joined by tens of thousands of Egyptians around the nation.
CIHRS commends the civilized conduct of the demonstrators, who took great care to maintain the peaceful nature of the protests and refrained from damaging public and private property. Nonetheless, the massive security forces deployed during the day exercised little self-restraint at times and in some locations used excessive violence, including live ammunition, to suppress the demonstrations, as a result of which at least three protestors were killed in Suez.
CIHRS utterly condemns the use of excessive force to break up peaceful assemblies and disperse a sit-in of thousands of citizens in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. Several protestors were injured due to the heavy use of tear gas canisters and rubber bullets to compel them to evacuate the square. CIHRS further denounces the Egyptian authorities’ move to block certain websites disseminating news and video footage of the ’Day of Rage’, a measure reminiscent of the deposed Ben Ali’s regime in Tunisia. Additionally, authorities shut down the mobile-phone network in some heavy protest areas to prevent different groups of demonstrators from contacting one another.
CIHRS considers the January 25 uprising and the political and social slogans articulated by demonstrators to be an eloquent response to the flagrant rigging of parliamentary elections held only a few weeks ago and confirmed by numerous court rulings. These protests expressed Egyptians’ hopes for change and a peaceful end to the monopolization of power, as well as the urgent need for serious measures to achieve social justice and end the blatant monopolization of wealth and spread of corruption. Such measures ought to ensure accountability for officials at all levels for the misappropriation of public funds and end the impunity enjoyed by security services under the exceptional state of emergency, which has sanctioned and entrenched immunity for grave human rights abuses.
Once more CIHRS warns that meeting the growing political and social unrest with security solutions and repressive measures is futile and may lead to violence or chaos, in which case the government and its party will bear full responsibility for the consequences.
Consequently, CIHRS urges the Egyptian state to immediately release the hundreds of people that were subjected to arbitrary detention or enforced disappearance during the demonstrations for simply exercising their constitutional right to express their opinion, assemble, and peacefully protest. CIHRS also calls on the Public Prosecutor to launch an independent investigation into the excessive use of force and hold accountable those responsible for the breach of international regulations and standards for the use of firearms.
CIHRS stresses that a wise approach to the current political and social situation requires the authorities to immediately and positively engage with the demonstrators’ legitimate demands. Authorities need to embark without delay on a comprehensive and long overdue political process to implement far-reaching political reforms that will achieve democracy and peaceful rotation of power, in addition to guaranteeing social justice, and stamping out corruption.
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