Clashes between Nour supporters and the Egyptian police
Egypt, Politics, 3/2/2005

Scores of supporters of the Egyptian al-Ghad opposition party demonstrated in Cairo on Tuesday demanding the release of the detained leader of the party Ayman Nour.

The demonstrator converted into clashes with the riot fighting forces which interfered to disperse the demonstrators who raised "orange color" signs, in remarks to the peaceful revolution which toppled the balances of the elections in Ukraine recently and toppled the government.

News reports said that more than 200 of the riot fighting members besieged the demonstrators who were only 70 in number. The demonstrators stressed that Nour was detained for political reasons relating to his demands to making reforms in the ruling system and amend the constitution.

The demonstration erupted from in front of the supreme court in Cairo where Nour is tried under the charge of falsifying papers related to the founding of al-Ghad party which was licensed only few months ago, while the paper of the party was banned.

Worthy mentioning that the Nour issue caused a sort of differences between Cairo and Washington which stressed by its foreign office secretary Condoleezza Rice the need of releasing him. Rice said during her meeting with her Egyptian counterpart Ahmad Abu al-Ghait one week earlier that this case is of concern to the White House and the Congress.

In the first Egyptian reaction, the spokesman for the Egyptian presidency Suleiman Awad stressed Cairo's rejection of foreign intervention in Nour's case. He said that this matter is a subject for the judiciary.

Last Saturday, the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he had asked the parliament to introduce amendments to permit choosing the President of the republic from among more than one candidate. He also asked for putting what he called guarantees to make sure of the seriousness of the candidate to get the nomination of the People's Assembly which is mostly controlled by the ruling national party.

Previous Stories:
  People's Assembly agrees in principle on amending the Constitution   (3/1/2005)
  On Mubarak's proposed constitution amendment   (2/28/2005)
  Egyptian opposition welcomes decision on multiparty presidential elections   (2/28/2005)
  Ayman Nour observes hunger strike   (2/25/2005)

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