Egypt's cabinet announces Jun. 30 third anniversay as public holiday

Sunday 26-06-2016 07:21 PM

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, REUTERS

CAIRO, Jun 26 (Aswat Masriya) - The Egyptian cabinet announced that the coming Thursday, which coincides with the third anniversary of June 30 mass protests, would be a public holiday.

The cabinet said in a statement on Sunday that the holiday applies to public sector and government employees. 

Visits to museums and archeological sites will be free of charge on Thursday to Egyptians, Arabs and foreigners residing in Egypt, said the cabinet. 

June 30 witnessed mass protests against the rule of the first democratically elected then-president Mohamed Mursi, who hailed from the Muslim Brotherhood group. The protests then marked one year anniversary of Mursi’s inauguration as president in June 2012.

Days after the protests, the Egyptian military ,led by general -turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Mursi, who rebuffed the army’s 48 hour ultimatum to resolve the crisis.

Nearly a year after Mursi’s ouster, Sisi swept to victory in Egyptian presidential elections, winning  96.91 per cent of Egyptian votes then.

facebook comments