Word began circulating that the organizers were planning something big for tomorrow, the first Friday since the movement started. Friday, of course, is the Muslim sabbath, and as well as being a day potent with religious significance it's also the first day of the weekend here, meaning many more people would be free to attend the protests.
Opposition elements usually at odds with each other publicly declared their eagerness to put aside differences and stand united against Mubarak's regime. Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency turned would-be political bandleader, returned to Egypt from Vienna, telling reporters that the time had come "to see a new regime and to see a new Egypt through peaceful transition.'' The Muslim Brotherhood, which until now had been reticent about voicing support for the protests -- allegedly out of concern that its involvement would brand the movement another "Islamic revolution" in the eyes of the world -- pledged to cooperate with ElBaradei and other secular opposition figures, and for the first time called on its members to take to the streets.
Facebook and Twitter were blocked on Egyptian internet during most of the day; blogs and listservs sympathetic to the protesters responded by posting links to proxy sites that could be used to get around the ban, and the planning continued unabated.
A PDF began making the rounds by email outlining the routes the protesters would take the following day to reach key targets around Cairo: the central TV broadcasting building Downtown, the Presidential Palace, several police stations. The document also included a list of equipment to bring -- a scarf to protect the mouth and eyes, a first aid kit, a light snack and drinking water, vinegar and Coca Cola (both believed to mitigate the effects of tear gas; the Tunisians had popularized the latter during their own revolution and, rather ironically for such an iconic American product, it had become a potent symbol of resistance), aerosol paint to spray on the visors of policemen -- as well as tactical plans for responding to various types of attacks.
Just after midnight, an hour after we went to bed, the government ordered all of Egypt's major internet providers to discontinue service, effectively shutting down online traffic throughout the country in one of the largest blackouts in the history of the World Wide Web.
Opposition elements usually at odds with each other publicly declared their eagerness to put aside differences and stand united against Mubarak's regime. Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency turned would-be political bandleader, returned to Egypt from Vienna, telling reporters that the time had come "to see a new regime and to see a new Egypt through peaceful transition.'' The Muslim Brotherhood, which until now had been reticent about voicing support for the protests -- allegedly out of concern that its involvement would brand the movement another "Islamic revolution" in the eyes of the world -- pledged to cooperate with ElBaradei and other secular opposition figures, and for the first time called on its members to take to the streets.
Facebook and Twitter were blocked on Egyptian internet during most of the day; blogs and listservs sympathetic to the protesters responded by posting links to proxy sites that could be used to get around the ban, and the planning continued unabated.
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| "Essential Clothing and Equipment" |
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| A map illustrating access routes to the Presidential Palace. |
Just after midnight, an hour after we went to bed, the government ordered all of Egypt's major internet providers to discontinue service, effectively shutting down online traffic throughout the country in one of the largest blackouts in the history of the World Wide Web.
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