There's a lot of tension in Egypt. 31 Gaza Freedom Marchers were arrested yesterday in el-Arish. 1000 GFMers are under house arrest in hotels in Cairo around Tahrir square. They are not allowed to have gatherings. No meeting of over 6 people is allowed. Activists in front of the French embassy have been living in tents, surrounded by the Egyptian police who have not yet began hitting and dragging like they do to their own people. The bus companies that were going to transport the delegations were stopped by the Egyptian police, and the delegations decided to choose to walk from Cairo to Rafeh if it continues to go on this way. Of the few media outlets out there Al Jazeera is doing the good reporting on the situation- still not enough! The Egyptian media has been complicit in silence. They are so busy promoting exculsive Egyptian nationalism against Algerians in football games. I mean can you imagine if Egypt was not a US-Israeli ally? Wouldn't the US media freak to these acts if it were... Iran? These are the democratic, human righteous allies of Barak Obama: Apartheid Israel, public beheadings Saudi Arabia, and corrupt and torturous Mubarakistan.
In Gaza, the Hamas government is pressuring civil society activists and trying to control all solidarity initiatives. If the GFMers manage to get in, they should make it clear that they are NOT in Gaza to support Hamas- that is no longer a resistance by the way and which causes harm to the Palestinian cause- but as a civil society call and people to people solidarity ONLY.
Viva Palestina UK delegation is stuck on Aqaba and is not allowed to proceed by the Egyptian police. Now, Mubarak, the laughing cow or "al baqara el dahika", and his regime has planned well for this silence, surveille and control. I wonder how much long it will take them to suppress and repress a group of 1363 person. If the solidarity delegations get in, or not, this is an important historical act. For the first time, such masses, across nations come together to stand in solidarity with Palestinians and take such measures ie: try to get into Palestine. It is also a turning point.
The Egyptian police, those tools of the Mubarak regime are of the most corrupt and nauseating-in the Sartrean sense- believe me, I have lived and seen what they are capable of doing to women, men, children and the elderly alike. They are bullies of the worst kind you can imagine.
Pictures taken by the bloggers in Gaza
