During the period from 1 September to 15 September 2020, the Social Movements Monitoring Center monitored 14 protests, including 7 labor and professional protests in addition to seven social protests.
This period has witnessed the government carrying out demolitions of buildings built illegally on state-owned land, which caused numerous confrontations between citizens and the security forces in charge of carrying out the demolition campaign.
It’s worth mentioning that the new Reconciliation Law ratified by the Parliament before the end of its term legitimizes the demolitions of houses constructed illegally throughout Egypt, and whoever opposes to the decision will be referred to the Military Prosecution.
- Protesting methods
Gathering cases topped the list of labor protests took place from September 1 to September 15, followed by strike cases.
- The gathering cases include: a group of people gathering in front of Giza’s Moneib Police Station after the killing of a young man at the hands of two low-ranking police officers at the police center.
- Also in Alexandria, confrontations broke out between citizens and the security forces in charge of carrying out demolitions of buildings built illegally on state-owned land. The incident was repeated in many governorates, including Sharqyia and Giza.
- The Gathering cases monitored by the center include: a strike organized by a group of workers at a spinning and weaving company in Shebin Al-Kom district at Menoufia governorate. The security forces affiliated to Menoufia Security Directorate forcibly disperse the gathering and arrested a number of workers, who haven’t been released till the moment.
- The protesting sectors
The Contracting and Building Materials sector topped the list of protesting sectors, followed by the Housing and Metallurgical sector.
It is noteworthy that the adoption of the new Reconciliation Law is the main reason behind most of the protests that took place during the period from September 1 and September 15.
- Distribution of protests in Egypt’s governorates
Cairo and Sharqyia governorates came at the forefront of the list with three protests each, while Giza and Alexandria governorates came second with two protests each, followed by the following governorates: Aswan, Menoufia, Asuit and Fayoum with one protest each.
It has been noticed that the protests took place during the reporting period were mainly staged in Upper and North Egypt, a matter which indicates the increase in the level of citizens” awareness with respect to his legitimate rights, such as the right to housing and the right to work.
