Alwaght- Irate Egyptian protestors on Friday demanded the ouster of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following his decision to hand over two islands to Saudi Arabia.
"The people want the downfall of the regime," the protesters yelled outside the Cairo press syndicate, using the same phrase heard during the 2011 revolt against Dictator Hosni Mubarak who later stepped down.
They also chanted: "Sisi - Mubarak", "We don't want you, leave" and "We own the land and you are agents who sold our land." One chant was “bread, freedom and those islands are Egyptians'.” In other parts of Cairo, police fired tear gas at protesters, security sources said.
Their protests signaled that the former general, who is also under mounting criticism over the struggling economy, no longer enjoys the broad public support that let him round up thousands of opponents after he seized power in 2013.
In the evening, riot police who had surrounded the site of the biggest demonstration, in the heart of downtown Cairo, dispersed the crowd with tear gas.
Khaled El-Balshy, the head of Freedoms Committee at the syndicate says that the main demand of the protest was to cancel the government’s agreement with Saudi Arabia to redraw the maritime borders.
“We have not forgotten that the regime cracks down freedoms in Egypt, but our main demand today is the cancellation of that agreement between the Egyptian government and Saudi Arabia,” he said. The demand of El-Balshy was echoed throughout the protest.
Egyptian security forces detained a total of 119 protesters at several demonstrations, according to security officials.
Egypt is reportedly receiving USD 20 billion in aid from Saudi Arabia in return for the move.
Similar demonstrations were held in other provinces of Egypt. Sisi's government prompted an outcry across the country last week when, during a visit by Saudi King Salamn, it announced an accord that handed the strategic Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia.
Located at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir are important because they could virtually control access to Occupied Palestine’s Red Sea Port of Eilat from the Indian Ocean.
Israeli regime’s war minister Moshe Ya’alon indicated that the Tel Aviv regime approved the deal was struck under the condition that the Saudis agree to allow freedom of shipping through the straits.
