'You come near Tahrir Square again and things won't be so good'

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

Two Guardian reporters describe hair-raising encounters with the Egyptian security forces and members of an angry mob

Peter Beaumont in Cairo | Friday February 4 2011 16.30 GMT


A plainclothes policeman (L) moves to attack a foreign journalist as
others beat a protester during demonstrations in Cairo
Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters

The soldier appeared helpful at first, offering to walk us through to Cairo's Tahrir Square as we attempted to cover the latest protests on what had been dubbed Mubarak's "day of departure". But it was not the square that we were being led to but the ministry of the interior.

The next soldier, outside the ministry's main door was not so friendly. He ordered us to kneel facing a wall with our hands behind our heads, an order that was quickly countermanded by another soldier.

The soldiers were disciplined but firm, demanding to know who we were, querying a passport stamp for the Rafah border crossing into Gaza; others for Tunisia and Afghanistan. Soon there were more of us sitting with our backs against a wall: a freelance journalist from New Zealand, another Briton, a Dane and an Italian, and three students.

Next came two officers in plain clothes, less friendly than the enlisted troops.

"Israeli?" asked one of the plain clothes men. No, British, we replied. Our phones were taken despite our best efforts to hide them. The Dane's bag was searched, as well as those belonging to three students who were French.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/04/egypt-cairo-guardian-journalists-security-forces-mob?CMP=twt_fd

[robinlynne]

1. oh shit. That menas the army's support of the people is gone. bad bad news.

[ret5hd]

3. i didn't get that from the story at all. It seems (to me)...

the author is not carefully choosing his words when he uses "officer" "police" and "soldier". Just from my reading of the linked story, I think all his troubles came from the police.

I may very well be wrong tho.

[robinlynne]

6. Things are certainly looking good today!

[florida08]

2. just means that some of the military

are with the DNP

One of the soldiers warned us about the senior man in plain clothes, telling us that he's "mad" and that we were unlucky to walk into the wrong checkpoint

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Reports are describing "military police" as opposed to "army" men.

From what I have read so far these past few days, "military police" are the very aggressive violent thugs,
"army" guys appear to be passive BUT army has been reported to allow thugs into the square.
I do not trust army either, they get paid by Mubarak, who gets paid by USA.

[florida08]

5. me either

Especially after we watched the army stand down Wednesday as the police thugs shot at the peaceful demonstrators and threw molotov cocktails. Reports were that many of them were hired by the DNP. It was barabaric to watch. Yes Boeing and Lockheed get billions to supply the army.