Egyptians ignore call for strike on Mubarak birthday
By Alaa Shahine
CAIRO, May 4 (Reuters) - Egyptians largely ignored calls for a general strike against rising food prices to coincide with President Hosni Mubarak's 80th birthday, in another sign the opposition lacks enough power to mobilise public protests.
Schools and stores were open for business in Cairo and cars jammed the streets from the early hours of the day.
Bracing for possible protests, police deployed in force at the centre of the capital. In the Nile Delta town of Mahalla al-Kubra, police detained dozens of people, a security official and witnesses said, apparently to try to prevent a repeat of the clashes on April 6 between police and civilians over poor wages.
The security official said the detainees were expected to be released soon. Two other police officials, however, put the number of detentions at around 20, while an Interior Ministry spokesman said he had no reports of arrests in the town.
"Every 50 meters (yards) you find trucks with riot police and officers next to them on stand by," said one resident in Mahalla who asked not to be named, fearing police persecution.
Political activists, mainly liberals and leftists, had urged a strike via the social networking system Facebook to protest against rising food prices. They called on Egyptians to stay at home, and wear black or hang black banners from homes and shops.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's strongest opposition group, later supported the call, urging Egyptians to stay at home.
Analysts say years of autocratic rule have weakened all opposition groups and contributed to a feeling of political apathy in Egypt, where Mubarak has been in power since 1981.
Amr El-Choubaki, a political analyst, said the failure of Sunday's strike showed that even the Brotherhood has little influence over "the silent majority" of Egyptians who are without political affiliation.
"The silent majority moves spontaneously and has no relation to political forces," he said.
The prestige of the ruling establishment in the most populous Arab country has been shaken in the past year by an unprecedented number of labour strikes demanding higher wages to face inflation, which hit 14.4 percent in the year to March.
Mubarak responded last week by proposing a 30-percent increase in basic public sector salaries and ordered the government, on the defensive after recent jumps in food prices, to find resources for funding.
Opposition activists have criticised the Muslim Brotherhood for not actively backing a previous call for a nationwide April 6 strike to support the workers of Mahalla. Traffic in Cairo was low on that day, but many people said they stayed at home fearing violent clashes, and not because of the strike call.
Mohamed Habib, the Brotherhood's deputy leader, said Egyptians were not accustomed yet to mass actions.
"We have seen social protests in universities, among doctors, workers and teachers. We want these movements to unite and not fragment," he told Reuters. (For further Egypt coverage click on [nL0137833]) (Additional reporting by Mohamed Abdella, writing by Alaa Shahine; editing by Sami Aboudi)
CAIRO, May 4 (Reuters) - Egyptians largely ignored calls for a general strike against rising food prices to coincide with President Hosni Mubarak's 80th birthday, in another sign the opposition lacks enough power to mobilise public protests.
Schools and stores were open for business in Cairo and cars jammed the streets from the early hours of the day.
Bracing for possible protests, police deployed in force at the centre of the capital. In the Nile Delta town of Mahalla al-Kubra, police detained dozens of people, a security official and witnesses said, apparently to try to prevent a repeat of the clashes on April 6 between police and civilians over poor wages.
The security official said the detainees were expected to be released soon. Two other police officials, however, put the number of detentions at around 20, while an Interior Ministry spokesman said he had no reports of arrests in the town.
"Every 50 meters (yards) you find trucks with riot police and officers next to them on stand by," said one resident in Mahalla who asked not to be named, fearing police persecution.
Political activists, mainly liberals and leftists, had urged a strike via the social networking system Facebook to protest against rising food prices. They called on Egyptians to stay at home, and wear black or hang black banners from homes and shops.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's strongest opposition group, later supported the call, urging Egyptians to stay at home.
Analysts say years of autocratic rule have weakened all opposition groups and contributed to a feeling of political apathy in Egypt, where Mubarak has been in power since 1981.
Amr El-Choubaki, a political analyst, said the failure of Sunday's strike showed that even the Brotherhood has little influence over "the silent majority" of Egyptians who are without political affiliation.
"The silent majority moves spontaneously and has no relation to political forces," he said.
The prestige of the ruling establishment in the most populous Arab country has been shaken in the past year by an unprecedented number of labour strikes demanding higher wages to face inflation, which hit 14.4 percent in the year to March.
Mubarak responded last week by proposing a 30-percent increase in basic public sector salaries and ordered the government, on the defensive after recent jumps in food prices, to find resources for funding.
Opposition activists have criticised the Muslim Brotherhood for not actively backing a previous call for a nationwide April 6 strike to support the workers of Mahalla. Traffic in Cairo was low on that day, but many people said they stayed at home fearing violent clashes, and not because of the strike call.
Mohamed Habib, the Brotherhood's deputy leader, said Egyptians were not accustomed yet to mass actions.
"We have seen social protests in universities, among doctors, workers and teachers. We want these movements to unite and not fragment," he told Reuters. (For further Egypt coverage click on [nL0137833]) (Additional reporting by Mohamed Abdella, writing by Alaa Shahine; editing by Sami Aboudi)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Sphere
Piracy fight
Obama skips wounded troop visit
