June 2013 Egyptian protests

Coordinates: 30°2′40″N 31°14′8″E / 30.04444°N 31.23556°E / 30.04444; 31.23556
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

30 June Egyptian protests
Part of the
Egyptian Crisis
Anti-Morsi protests in June 2013
Date30 June 2013 (2013-06-30) – 3 July 2013
(3 days)
Location
Egypt

30°2′40″N 31°14′8″E / 30.04444°N 31.23556°E / 30.04444; 31.23556
Caused byPolicies of President Mohamed Morsi
Goals
Resulted in2013 Egyptian coup d'état
Parties
Lead figures

George Isaac
(Key opposition activist and member of the Constitution Party)
Ahmed Maher
(Co-leader of the April 6 Youth Movement)
Mohamed Abou El-Ghar
(Leader of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party
)

Mohamed Morsi
(President of Egypt)
Hesham Qandil
(Prime Minister of Egypt)
Saad El-Katatni
(Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party)
Mohammed Badie
(Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood)
Khairat el-Shater
(Deputy Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood)

The 30 June revolution occurred in Egypt on 30 June 2013, marking the one-year anniversary of Mohamed Morsi's inauguration as president.[21] The events ended with the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état after mass protests across Egypt demanding the immediate resignation of the president.[22] The rallies were partly a response to Tamarod, an ostensibly[23] grassroots movement that launched a petition in April 2013, calling for Morsi and his government to step down. Tamarod claimed to have collected more than 22 million signatures for their petition by June 30,[24][25][26] although this figure was not verified by independent sources.[27] A counter-campaign in support of Morsi's presidency, named Tagarod (meaning impartiality), claimed to have collected 26 million signatures by the same date,[28] but this figure was also unverified and not mentioned in media nearly as much as Tamarod's, with no reliable sources repeating it.[29] The movements in opposition to Morsi culminated in the June 30 protests that occurred across the country. According to the Egyptian military, which calculated the number of protesters via helicopter scans of demonstration perimeters across the country, the June 30 protests had 32 million protesters, making them "the biggest protests in Egypt's history."[22][30] However, independent observers raised concerns that the Egyptian government exaggerated the actual number of anti-Morsi protestors, with some research determining that only around one to two million people protested across the country against Morsi.[31][32]

Reasons for demanding Morsi's resignation included accusations of increasing

seven months of protests that started when the Morsi government issued a highly controversial constitutional declaration that gave him temporary sweeping powers over the state's judicial system until the new constitution was passed.[36][37][38] The June 30 protests resulted in the overthrow of Morsi by the Egyptian military three days later, with Adly Mansour replacing Morsi as president of Egypt on July 4.[39]

Terminology

The events are also widely called the 30 June Revolution (

Washington Institute for Near East Policy dubbed it the Tamarod Revolution.[47]

Background

Amid growing anger aganist the regime, President Hosni Mubarak, whose reign was marked by increasing corruption and authoritarianism, resigned on 11 February 2011 following 18 days of mass protests that marked the beginning of a new era of political instability in Egypt.[48] The subsequent transitional period, which saw the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) taking power under Field Marshal Muhammad Tantawi immediately after Mubarak's ouster, saw renewed deadly clashes and human rights abuses.[49] A round of elections started to take place in the country starting with the 2011 referendum, in which a majority approved of reforms drafted by a military-formed committee. The election however proved to be highly controversial despite some positive reforms such as limiting the president's time in office to two four-year terms. Many opposition figures and activists were upset with the reforms as they were drafted in just ten days and were offered to the public for only three weeks before the referendum. Two of the country's largest political forces back then, the Muslim Brotherhood and remnants of the former National Democratic Party, have endorsed the reforms.[50][51] This turnout proved highly beneficial for the Brotherhood in the following months as they achieved nearly all of their political ambitions including a majority win for the Islamist current in the 2011–12 parliamentary election, during which the Brotherhood was accused by many opposition figures of making deals with the military while protesters were being killed by security forces.[52][53] Their efforts culminated with Mohamed Morsi winning against Ahmed Shafik by 51.7% in the 2012 presidential election.[54]

Constituent Assembly of 2012

In April, a couple of months prior to Morsi's inauguration, the Administrative Court suspended a constituent assembly previously appointed in March without giving any clear reasons for this decision and which the Brotherhood claimed was politically motivated.

Shura Council not by parliament. Also, the same day the military delivered its statement, Hossam El-Gheriany was elected as chairman of the assembly.[60] Military chief Mohamed Hussein Tantawi was forced to retire by Morsi on 12 August, a month and a half after the latter was elected and a week after a militant attack in Sinai that had the military preoccupied, leaving the constituent assembly's drafting process unchallenged.[61]

Tamarod campaign

The political roadmap proposed by Rebel's [Tamarod's] 30 June mass protests in a press conference last week [before the uprising] . . .:

1. Hand power to an independent prime minister who represents the January 25 Revolution on the condition that he does not run in the first upcoming presidential or parliamentary elections.

2. "The independent prime minister will head a technocratic government whose main mission is to put together an urgent economic plan to save the Egyptian economy and to expand social justice policies," . . .

3. "The head of the High Constitutional Court would be assigned the duties of the president according to protocol, where all executive powers are assigned to the prime minister in a six-month transitional period that ends by presidential elections judicially supervised and monitored internationally, followed by parliamentary elections," . . .

4. Dissolving the Shura Council, suspending the current constitution and drafting a new constitution are steps in the roadmap proposed by the newly founded Front.

5. The prime minister will give the National Defence Council the authority to fulfil its national security responsibility towards the country.

— Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, Tamarod co-founder.[62]

Amid a climate of dissent and division, Tamarod (Arabic for "rebellion"), a grassroots movement, was founded in April 2013 by five young activists with ages ranging between 22 and 30 years old. They orchestrated a door-to-door, street-level campaign collecting signatures from Egyptians across the country calling for, among other demands, President Morsi's resignation, early presidential elections and the start of a renewed constituent process.

Esraa Abdel Fattah.[67][68] According to the roadmap offered by the front, the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court will be the acting interim president and all executive powers would be handed over to a new prime minister. The demands also included the suspension of the 2012 constitution, the dissolution of the Shura Council and forming a committee of experts to draft a new constitution and put it to a referendum.[69]
At the press conference where the front was announced and in the presence of many prominent revolutionary and political figures, Mohamed Abdel Aziz, co-founder of the campaign, said:

We announce the 30 June Front as an initiative from Tamarod to represent Egyptians who refuse Muslim Brotherhood rule and to share with the great Egyptian people their political vision in order to avoid the mistakes of the past period and to continue on the path of January 25 Revolution"[70]

However, the presidency and its supporters had a different reaction to Tamarod which was far from appeasing the population. A counter-campaign called "Tagarod" (Arabic for "impartiality") was started by

Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya member Assem Abdel Maged, who called on Morsi's supporters to sign this petition to keep the "legitimately elected president in his post".[71] Abdel Maged's campaign however, proved unsuccessful in terms of impact compared to Tamarod which was able to penetrate and mobilize the "Couch Party", the silent majority of Egyptians who usually avoid participating in political events but prominently joined anti-Morsi demonstrations this time.[72] The movement's effectiveness in sparking the uprising directly inspired many other copycat campaigns throughout the Arab world such as Gaza,[73] Morocco,[74] Tunisia[75] and Yemen,[76] as well as a new wave of protests in Bahrain.[77]

Allegations of military involvement in Tamarod

Egypt's

Cairo Stadium. What worried the army though, is that Morsi, while not explicitly calling himself for holy war, delivered a speech in which he called for a foreign intervention against Bashar al-Assad's government by establishing a no-fly zone over Syria. The military responded by issuing a statement where it argued that its only role is to guard Egypt's borders.[80][81]

On 23 June,

General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi issued a statement warning all sides saying that the army will not allow the country to fall into a "dark tunnel of conflict". He also added:[79]

Those who think that we (the military) are oblivious to the dangers that threaten the Egyptian state are mistaken. We will not remain silent while the country slips into a conflict that will be hard to control

After Morsi was ousted on 3 July, most of the country's energy crises[clarification needed], that were very common during Morsi's presidency, were surprisingly diminished following the Revolution. David D. Kirkpatrick, Cairo's bureau chief of The New York Times, claimed there might have been a campaign orchestrated by members of the old Mubarak regime and top military generals that was meant to undermine Mohamed Morsi's one-year rule.[82] Kirkpatrick also claimed that a smear media campaign against Morsi, that began immediately following Morsi's inauguration, helped feed popular discontent towards the authorities by adopting a contradictory stance through favoring the military while honoring Morsi's position as president of the republic.[83]

Later in 2015, leaked tapes from the summer of 2013 that were later verified by J. P. French Associates[84] emerged recording figures of the Egyptian military, including then-Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, suggesting Egyptian military involvement in the mass-protests preceding Morsi's ouster.[85][86] In one of the leaked tapes the generals are heard discussing the withdrawal of a large sum of money for the army's use from the bank account of Tamarod, the independent grassroots group that was organizing protests against President Morsi.[85] The tapes also suggest high-level collusion between the coup plotters and the Government of the United Arab Emirates as the money that is to be transferred from Tamarod's account into the army's account was provided by the UAE.[87] The tapes were first released on the Turkish Islamist channel Mekameleen, a fact that the Egyptian government says discredits the tapes as fakes.[86] American officials later confirmed that the United Arab Emirates was indeed providing financial support for the protests against Morsi.[88]

Issues

Economic crisis

Preparation and security precautions

During security measures in Upper Egypt, the Luxor security directorate announced that it had transferred all those jailed in the local police station to Qena prison as a mean of avoiding the 2011 scenario due to the risk of violence. Aswan saw heavy security presence and the police chief announced that he will personally head the operation room to receive complaints and information during the demonstrations and said that security personnel will protect their stations as well as state property, and added that the people will be protected, not the regime or any political party. Members of the FJP have gathered in front of their party headquarters to secure the complex. These procedures took place on 30 June, the day of protests.[89][90][91]

According to information that came out after the removal of Morsi, officials claimed that Morsi stopped working at the

presidential office as early as 26 June in anticipation to the protests and moved with his family to Koubbeh Palace, just a few blocks away from the main palace.[92]

Fears of violence against Copts

Weeks prior to the protests,

Shura Council, said in an interview on television that Christians should not participate in the protests and warned them "do not sacrifice your children [since the] general Muslim opinion will not be silent about the ousting of the president." Letters were delivered to Christian families in Minya where they were threatened not to join the protests, otherwise their "businesses, cars, homes, schools, and churches" might "catch fire".[93]
The letters, signed by "People zealous of the nation", read:

If you are not worried about any of these, then worry about your children and your homes. This message is being delivered with tact. But when the moment of truth comes, there will be no tact.[93]

There had been incitements against Copts by some of Morsi's staunchest allies. For instance,

Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya's leading hardline cleric Assem Abdel Maged directly threatened the country's Christian community by saying "if you go down into the streets on 30 June, you will bring black days onto yourselves." President Morsi himself invited Pope Tawadros II to a meeting at the country's presidential palace in what has been seen as an attempt to put pressure on him. The pope told Morsi to do what is necessary to bring the nation together and work for the peace of Egypt, not to stir up quarrels. "I am still hoping to see improvements in the economic and social life of the country," he said, while Morsi suggested that the church should advise Egypt's Christian community not to participate in the protests.[94] Pro-Morsi cleric Safwat Hegazi addressed the country's Christians by saying: "You share this country with us, but there are red lines, and one red line is the legitimacy of Dr. Morsi. Whoever splashes water on that, we will spill his blood."[95]

Early events

28 June

On Friday 28 June, protests against Morsi started to build throughout Egypt including in such cities as

Anti-Morsi demonstrators marching in Cairo on 28 June

29 June

Deadly clashes broke out this day in several Egyptian cities, most notably Alexandria, where armed confrontations between Morsi's supporters and his opponents, with both sides in the fighting armed with different kinds of firearms, left many injured and three dead, a 14-year-old boy, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who was shot dead and an American student, Andrew Pochter, was killed after being stabbed in the chest during an anti-Morsi rally. Protesters stormed the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood's ruling Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and set the building ablaze.[97][98] In Port Said, a bomb detonated in the city's Martyrs Square where protesters had gathered to protest against Mohamed Morsi. The explosion, which AFP reported to have been a hand-grenade thrown by unidentified men, injured 14 demonstrators and killed a journalist.[99] A police general in Sinai was gunned down by militants in an ambush when he was leaving his car, before they ran away.[100]

In Cairo, the president's opponents started building up in anticipation for 30 June's uprising as thousands of anti-Morsi demonstrators took to Tahrir Square with the number of tents increasing to 150. At the presidential palace, protesters set up 18 tents and erected a stage at the entrance of Heliopolis Sporting Club. Five CSF trucks and a fire-fighting vehicle went to reside in the location as a security precaution.[101] This day, Tamarod claimed to have collected more than 22 million signatures their petition calling for Morsi to step down. The numbers were announced in a press conference statement in which the group's leaders described 30 June protests as a new wave of the 2011 revolution that and stressed that "Morsy has lost legitimacy after millions of signatures calling for his removal were collected, and after he refused to respect the constitution and the law". The statement also urged protesters to remain peaceful.[102] On the other hand, thousands staged an open-ended rally since Friday which was called for by 40 Islamist parties and groups led by the FJP and was held under the banner "Democratic legitimacy is a red line".[101]

Events

Cairo

The much anticipated day began with several marches throughout

Qasr al-Nil Bridge.[105][106]

A less notable sit-in took place at the Culture Ministry in Zamalek's Shagarat al Dur Street and was organized by artists, among them actors, musicians and painters, who were banging clogs and were led by some intellectuals, such as Bahaa Taher, who called for the toppling of the regime, and especially the newly appointed Islamist minister whom they accuse along with the Brotherhood of attempting to "Islamize" the country's cultural traditions.[107][108] They later headed to the Cairo Opera House to stage public performances and manifestations and they were expected to continue to Tahrir but it is unclear whether all of them went there or if some remained.[89][109]

In

Shubra El-Kheima, nearly 3,000 demonstrators, mostly women, formed human chains extending over one kilometer and were organized by the Popular Current and the Constitution Party.[110] In addition, the April 6 Youth Movement and Constitution Party announced a sit-in in front of Abdeen Palace as soon as they received information that Prime Minister Hesham Qandil was there.[91] Another thousand protesters gathered in front of the Qubba Palace only three kilometers away from Ittihadiya following rumors that Mohamed Morsi was residing there at the time, which was later semi-confirmed when the presidency announced it would hold a press conference at the palace later in the afternoon.[89]

The

6 October also saw hundreds rallying in Juhayna Square.[89][111] Demonstrations have taken place in other similar locations around Cairo such as the wealthy district of New Cairo, where several dozens have gathered in front of Morsi's residency waving Egyptian flags and red cards calling for his resignation while security forces deployed barriers to keep protesters away from the building.[91][112][113]

This day, the main opposition National Salvation Front (NSF) issued a statement it called "Revolution Statement 1" and which goes:

In the name of the Egyptian people with all their factions, the National Salvation Front announces public endorsement of the ouster of the regime of Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood," the statement reads.

"The Egyptian population continue their revolution and will impose their will, which has become unequivocally clear in all Egypt's squares."

"The Salvation Front also trusts that the Egyptian people will protect its revolution until peaceful transition of power is fulfilled...we also call on all political forces and all citizens to remain peaceful...and refrain from dealing with the failed Brotherhood government until the fall of this tyrannical organisation."[91]

Although Morsi opponents had staged protest camps outside

MENA reported that political forces present there announced that they will stage an open-ended sit-in till the president steps down.[91]

Only five kilometers away from the presidential palace, Islamist supporters of Mohamed Morsi and the government held their sit-in at

Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya which called on the army and police to protect the president and, although initially wishing for non-violence to be exercised, threatened that if the police and army "fail to do their job in protecting the president's legitimacy … we will do so ourselves," said Mohamed Hassan, the group's spokesman while refusing to clarify whether he implicated the group would use violence or not and also added that Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya would not allow the overthrow of the democratically elected president by any means.[122] However, the demonstrations continued peacefully with no reported clashes occurring between supporters and opponents of Morsi either at Rabaa al-Adawiya or at the presidential palace.[91]

Alexandria

Egypt's second city of

El-Hadara district earlier on Sunday.[89][91]

Other governorates

Nearly every

Kafr el-Dawwar and 5,000 in Kom Hamada.[89][110][125] The port city of Damietta in the north was estimated to have several thousand demonstrators in the streets, according to a member of the Socialist Popular Alliance, with some in Al-Saa'a Square demanding early presidential elections. Around 250 fishing boats sailed in the Nile heading to the square using megaphones to chant anti-Mori slogans. They have taken over the governorate headquarters and the offices of the local educational authority and also planned to occupy other government buildings to prevent governor Tarek Khedr from entering his office.[91][125][131]

A similar scene took place in the

Molotov cocktails at the building's balconies around two o'clock in the morning before moving to a secretariat office and torched it too.[140] Later that day, one protester was killed and 30 were injured, according to Beni Suef's security chief, when unknown assailants fired at anti-Morsi protests in El-Modereya Square. Following the shooting, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya claimed in a statement that the person killed was a member of the Islamist group while the office of Hamdeen Sabahi's Popular Current claimed that members of the "jihadist movement" in the city was the one behind the attack. The health ministry confirmed however that 25-year-old Ammar Gouda was the protester who died while participating in anti-Morsi protests. The army arrived to break up the situation and the demonstrations quietly continued later on.[91][141][142] There were other violent clashes in the Faiyum Governorate in which hundreds of Morsi opponents clashed with his Islamist supporters outside the Muslim Brotherhood's local FJP office. Both sides were pelting sticks and stones at each other in the Al-Masala district and there were also unconfirmed reports of rubber bullets being used mutually by the clashing demonstrators.[143]

Storming of the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters

Around midnight, the Muslim Brotherhood's national headquarters in Cairo's

birdshot and live ammunition reportedly exchanged between the two sides.[145] According to the Health Ministry, eight people have been killed as the rioting continued until next morning when anti-Morsi protesters eventually stormed the compound, despite being barricaded with sandbags prior to the attack, and the building was later ransacked and torched.[117] Looting took place the next morning with rioters carting off furniture, blankets, rugs, files and air-conditioning devices among others. Fire was reportedly still raging from one floor as protesters tore down the Muslim Brotherhood signs from the building's front facade and another waved the Egyptian flag from an upper-story window.[144][146]

Continuing protests

1 July

As the protests headed into their second day, the plundering persisted at the Brotherhood's headquarters compound, the site of fierce clashes the previous night.

Shura Council officially resigned from the body in protest and solidarity with the opposition's demands.[157]

In Assiut, thousands attended the funerals of the three protesters who were killed on Sunday during evening clashes chanting against the Brotherhood. The body of Mohamed Abdel Hamid, a director at the National Bank, was carried to the cemetery by hundreds of activists who proceeded in front of the governorate building where the confrontation took place the night before, waving national flags and calling for retribution. The funeral of the second victim, Mohamed Nasef, was marked by anger on the part of the family and tight security. The service for Abanoub Atef, the third victim, took place in the Church of the Resurrection, and was attended by a number of activists. The local Wafd Party held the Brotherhood and the Islamist group al-Gamaa al-Islamiya responsible for the deaths and injuries and accused them of encouraging their supporters to attack unarmed civilians under the guise of jihad for God.[159][160][161] Supporters and opponents of Mohamed Morsi exchanged gunfire in Suez as the sound of shots rocked the city, while the governor of Ismailia, Hassan el-Rifaai, resigned from office.[162][163]

2 July

In Cairo, demonstrators were pouring into Tahrir Square, where popular committees were blocking all roads leading in and out of the already packed square after two major marches arrived from Shubra and Mohandessin.

during the previous months anti-Morsi marches usually headed to Tahrir Square or to Ittihadiya instead. The reason behind that is because the president moved from the Egypt's official presidential palace to Quba Palace, and as a result, the site became a popular rallying point for demonstrations during this uprising.[164][167] Many protesters were chanting in favour of the military and General el-Sisi, as chants of "the people and the army are one hand" were very common and spray-painted "Game Over" on the gates of the palace.[168] Another wave of resignations similar to Monday's included Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr who decided to step down in response to the unrest, along with presidential spokesman Ehab Fahmy and cabinet spokesman Alaa al-Hadidi.[169][170]

This day saw significant numbers of pro-Morsi marches across the country as many started to suspect a Revolution would take place. Hundreds of Morsi supporters gathered in front of

There were deadly clashes across the country, as the Cairo University demonstration in

Banha, the Brotherhood's FJP local headquarters was torched after it was stormed by anti-Morsi protesters. The building was ransacked and the banner that carries the name of the party was removed. Other clashes were confirmed in the Beheira and Luxor governorates.[164]

Morsi's speech

Later that night, President Mohamed Morsi made his first official speech since the events began on Sunday where he appeared defiant to the military's ultimatum and refused to back down. He admitted that he made mistakes but insisted that he was the legitimate democratically elected president. In the speech he said:[178][179]

The people empowered me, the people chose me, through a free and fair election.

Legitimacy is the only way to protect our country and prevent bloodshed, to move to a new phase,... Legitimacy is the only thing that guarantees for all of us that there will not be any fighting and conflict, that there will not be bloodshed.

If the price of protecting legitimacy is my blood, I'm willing to pay it,... And it would be a cheap price for the sake of protecting this country.[178]

The speech was immediately denounced by opposition activists.[180]

3 July: Reaching deadline

Before the deadline passed, Tahrir Square was still filling up with anti-Morsi demonstrators with the central square partially full while surrounding streets were still relatively empty.

derogatory term popular among Brotherhood opponents used to describe followers of the group in Egypt.[183][185] The atmosphere was generally celebratory as the thousands of demonstrators were waving national flags and chanting against Morsi. Hundreds of women holding hands were chanting "Morsi, get out!", while they were encircled by a human shield that was viewed as necessary to curb the number of sexual assaults that were reported in Tahrir and its surroundings since the uprising began on 30 June. Anti-sexual violence groups such as Tahrir Bodyguard and Operation Anti Sexual Harassment wore recognizable neon yellow vests and helmets and were monitoring the scene.[186][187] The vicinity of Ittihadiya Palace was almost full with people protesting against Morsi, as the band Cairokee attended the demonstrations for a second time since Monday's demonstrations in the Heliopolis suburb of Cairo and performed in front of hundreds of thousands of protesters cheering them, with lyrics such as "we are the people… and our path is right" and "you say 'justice', and they call you a betrayer".[181][188] Several miles away from the presidential palace, anti-Morsi demonstrators started to congregate outside the ministry of defense building and were chanting patriotically. The group of pro-military protesters was building up until the much waited announcement and they had been holding a sit-in in the location for twelve days.[181][189] 93 diplomats, some based in the foreign affairs ministry declared a strike as an objection to the "failure of the president to meet the people's demands."[181]

Alexandria's streets witnessed protests in masses with anti-Morsi rallies marching along its main streets, including the seafront. Several thousands kept flocking into

Menoufia, demonstrators blocked one of the city's main roads. In Sharqia, Morsi's hometown, crowds of protesters gathered outside the president's residence there, chanting anti-regime slogans, stating that they will start an open-ended sit-in until their demands are met, threatening to bring the whole city to a halt. Port Said witnessed protesters shutting down the Investment Authority compound.[181][193]

Coup d'état