While nearly 7000 supporters of 30 different – mostly leftist – parties attempt another million-man march on Egypt’s Tahrir Square, Freedom and Justice Party leaders affirm they will cooperate with fellow revolutionaries to serve the homeland. With the most generous observers’ estimates putting total number of demonstrators at around 10,000 in all flashpoint squares across Egypt, on October 19, the Popular Current Party led by Hamdeen Sabbahi and the Constitution Party led by Mohamed ElBaradei, joined by some 30 diverse parties, groups and movements, failed to fill Tahrir with supporters.
For his part, Mukhtar Ashri, Chairman of FJP’s Legal Committee, refused to comment on the small number of demonstrators in the ‘Egypt is no private estate’ Friday protest marches, simply saying: “Demonstrations alone are not sufficient. They are not the appropriate, effective means for a proper political path. And of course, insults and vulgarity are entirely unacceptable in decent dialogue with political partners of the revolution.
“I do urge the leaders of the demonstrators to work among the masses, the Egyptian people, to motivate and serve all, to give people the chance to know them, before calling them to protest marches, and ultimately to polling stations. Because the polling box is the ultimate proof of popularity on the ground. Needless to say, insulting the Muslim Brotherhood has nothing to do with democracy.”