EGYPTIANS HAVE TAKEN their protests against Islamist President Mohamed Morsi to the gates of his palace, demanding his ouster in scenes not witnessed even during demonstrations that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
An AFP photographer said hundreds of protesters were camped in front of the Itihadiya presidential palace this morning after it had been besieged the previous night by vast anti-Morsi crowds furious at a November 22 decree expanding his powers.
Morsi
Morsi returned to work in the presidential palace this morning, his aide told AFP.
During yesterday’s protest, which drew tens of thousands of demonstrators, a group cut through barbed wire a few hundred metres from the palace, prompting police to fire the tear gas before retreating and allowing demonstrators to reach the palace walls, AFP correspondents said.
Demonstrators banged on lamp posts and chanted “leave” in a thunderous show of force outside the palace not seen before. Hundreds more Morsi opponents spent last night in Cairo’s Tahrir Square inside dozens of tents erected almost two weeks ago, as activists used social networking sites to appeal for blankets and food.
The protesters are angry over Morsi’s decree which granted him sweeping powers and enabled him to call a December 15 referendum on a draft constitution boycotted by liberals, leftists and Christians.
As he faces the worst political crisis since he took office in June, Morsi insists the measures are aimed at cutting short a tumultuous transition.
The National Rescue Front, led by high profile dissidents including former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, ex-Arab League chief Amr Mussa and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi, called on Morsi to cancel the decree, state media said.
They also urged the scrapping of the referendum and the formation of a new panel to draft a constitution that better reflects Egyptian society.
Polarised
The decree has deeply polarised the country, pitting Morsi’s Islamist supporters against the largely secular-leaning opposition.
In the central province of Minya, clashes flared between opponents and supporters of Morsi outside the headquarters of his Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Police fired tear gas at the crowd after Morsi opponents tore down a picture of the president, prompting skirmishes with his supporters.
Anti-Morsi protests also erupted in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and the central province of Sohag, with the spreading unrest prompting US appeals for restraint.
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