Almost one protest per hour in August: Democracy Index

Saturday 13-09-2014 11:18 AM
Almost one protest per hour in August: Democracy Index

Protesters, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, shout slogans in the Matariya area in Cairo, August 14, 2014. REUTERS/Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper

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CAIRO, Sept 13 (Aswat Masriya) – August witnessed 647 protests, at the rate of one protest per hour, according to a report released by Democracy Index on Saturday.

The highest rate of protests was reported on August 14, which marks the first anniversary of the deadly dispersal of two pro-Mohamed Mursi camps last August, said Democracy Index. Eighty-three protests were reported on that day, as well as 61 protests on Friday, August 15.

The dispersals left hundreds killed and were described by international watchdog Human Rights Watch as "the most serious incident of mass unlawful killings in modern Egyptian history."

Political and civilian demands ranked highest as the cause for protest in August, representing 65 percent of the protests held.

The Muslim Brotherhood organised the highest number of protests; 414 protests, making up 63.98 percent of the protests held throughout the month.Three-hundred and seventy protests were held against "military rule" and calling for Mursi's reinstatement, according to the report. The Brotherhood also organised 12 protests condemning Israel's latest aggression on the Gaza strip, as well as protesting the power outages and price hikes.

Thirty-five percent of the protests held in August called for economic and social rights. Residents held 70 protests, while activists organised seven protests. The month saw 43 protests calling for financial rights, 34 demonstrations protesting power cuts and 10 protesting price hikes.

Student activity returned to Egypt's streets with 19 student protests held in August, Democracy Index said. Four protests called for reversing the expulsion of university students.

The majority of the protests, 17 percent, were held in the capital. The governorate of Sharqiya ranked second with 12 percent and Giza ranked third with 9 percent. The lowest number of protests was recorded in the border governorates of Marsa Matrouh, North Sinai and South Sinai.

August saw 269 protest marches, 33 strikes and 15 sit-ins, Democracy Index reported. The most frequent violent form of protest was blocking roads, with 94 cases reported. The Cairo-based index also reported 12 cases of hunger strikes and 10 cases of torching public and private properties.

The Freedom for the Brave, a movement calling for the release of those detained pending politically-motivated charges, announced on Sunday a gradual hunger strike campaign demanding the release of detainees held under protest law charges.

The announcement comes amid an ongoing hunger strike campaign, gaining momentum by the day, with over 100 already on hunger strike inside and outside prisons.

Democracy Index is a research project issued by the Cairo-based International Development Centre to monitor protests rate in Egypt.

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