Critics of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak say his government's actions during a key reform vote -- including the beating of protesters by government agents -- are a sign the regime is on the defensive against growing international and domestic pressure.
Plainclothes government agents beat protesters on Wednesday, then watched as supporters of Mubarak punched other demonstrators, in scattered violence that cast a pall over a referendum the 24-year ruler has called a crucial step toward democracy.
Women protesters in particular seemed to be targeted for beatings by both plainclothes state security agents and pro-Mubarak supporters, according to several witnesses and reporters who witnessed the attacks.
PHOTO: AFP
"It's a moment of establishing a new legitimacy for the political regime, so the regime is not looking [just] for majority. It wants something closer to consensus," said Diaa Rashwan, a Cairo-based expert with Al-Ahram Center for political and strategic studies.
Results were expected yesterday on the referendum approving or rejecting a constitutional amendment that could pave the way for the country's first multicandidate elections later this year.
"With complete free will, Egyptians made their new `history,'" read the banner of yesterday's edition of the pro-government daily Al-Gomhouria. It claimed that "masses have flooded the ballot boxes since the early morning."
The opposition Al-Wafd paper, however, called it "scandalous" and published front-page photographs of two of its reporters casting ballots in six different polling stations, criticizing a lack of proper judicial supervision. It also published photographs of what it said were polling station employees filling out ballots and inserting them in the box.
referendum
Referendum critics say the draconian rules in the constitutional change mean any challengers won't be able to truly compete. Some opposition protesters held banners on Wednesday reading, "Boycott the referendum. We want real freedom."
They say the proof of their success is the police harassment, which they contend reveals the regime's nervousness.
In one protest in Cairo on Wednesday witnessed by a reporter, more than a dozen members of the Kifaya opposition movement were beaten by Mubarak supporters. The protesters tried to seek police protection but a high-ranking officer ordered his security men to withdraw, allowing more attacks. Elsewhere, a reporter saw 150 Mubarak backers attack Kifaya members, beating them with sticks. Some demonstrators took refuge in a building.
One woman trying to leave the building was pounced upon by Mubarak loyalists who punched her and pummeled her with batons and tore her clothes, according to a reporter at the scene. As police looked on, she screamed, then vomited and fainted.
The woman later said she was stripped of her blouse and her skirt was torn by Mubarak supporters as government security agents watched. She said she tried to file a police report but was denied the right to do so at a nearby police station.
Despite such incidents, the vote went on peacefully in much of the country. Polling stations around Cairo saw a steady flow of voters. The Interior Ministry said about 32.5 million people were expected to vote.
The opposition contended that many Egyptians heeded its advice and boycotted, but Safwat el-Sherif, a close ally to Mubarak and secretary-general of the ruling National Democratic Party, said that the opposition call for boycott had failed.
boycott
The amendment needs a simple majority to pass. If approved, it would require independents to get 250 recommendations from elected members of parliament and local councils -- which all are dominated by Mubarak's party -- before being allowed to enter the race.
Mubarak has not said if he will run, but is expected to. Egypt's oldest and biggest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, along with five other opposition parties had urged people to boycott.
"The regime is incapable of fair political competition against the opposition -- that's why they resort to these oppressive measures," says Mohammed Habib, deputy supreme guide of Muslim Brotherhood. "They are taking this referendum thing too personally ... It's a matter of life or death for them."
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