Unfinished revolution: Egyptian activists in Tahrir Square

The second wave of the Revolution has come back to Tahrir Square. After the massive demonstration on Friday, 18 November 2011, calling for an end to military rule, about 200 people, mainly family members of martyrs who died in the January 25 uprisings and people who were previously injured, staged a sit-in at Tahrir Square. Central Security Forces and Egyptian military police violently dismantled the sit-in, and since then, thousands have come together to reoccupy Tahrir Square. The police and military continue to attack protesters with live bullets, extremely potent tear gas and invisible gas, bird shot, rubber bullets and other ammunition.

As of Thursday 24 November 2011, the Egyptian Ministry of Health has confirmed at least 38 dead and thousands wounded. The protesters vow to continue their occupation of Tahrir Square until the ruling military council, or SCAF, steps down. Protests against ongoing military rule are happening throughout Egypt, and security forces and the military are reacting violently to those protests as well.

I spoke by phone to two Egyptian activists and members of the New Republic Project, Sherif Joseph Rizk and Yehia El Gammal, on early Monday morning, 21 November 2011. They had spent the last three days and nights in Tahrir Square and are continuing to protest. Sherif Joseph Rizk starts out by telling me what has happened since Friday, 18 November 2011, in Tahrir Square, and Yehia El Gammal begins by saying there are piles of dead bodies at the morgue, victims of the attacks by Central Security Forces and military police.

I also spoke by phone to Shahira Abouellail, an Egyptian activist and one of the founders of No Military Trials for Civilians, on early Tuesday morning from Cairo. She speaks about protesting in Tahrir, her visit to the Zeinhom morgue to accompany family members who had lost their children and loved ones, the vicious attacks by security forces and the military on protesters and the end of the relationship between the military and the Egyptian people.

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* Lillian Boctor is a freelance journalist based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is a reporter for Free Speech Radio News and has worked as a journalist, associate producer and researcher at the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) and Radio Canada International (RCI).
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