Thousands Cram Into Tahrir Square Protesting Morsi Power Grab

By Aljazeera

27 November 12

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbL_JE8brjo

Thousands are holding a protest in Cairo against President Mohamed Morsi, who last week granted himself sweeping powers.

ens of thousands of people are staging a protest in the Egyptian capital against President Mohamed Morsi, who last week granted himself sweeping new powers.

"The people want the regime to fall," the crowds chanted.

Protesters and riot police clashed in Cairo on Tuesday near Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.

Lawyers left their syndicate chanting, "The people want the downfall of the regime," - the signature chant of the protests that toppled Mubarak in February, 2011.

Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Tahrir Square, said "well over 10,000 Egyptians had gathered themselves in the square, with thousands more on their way".

"This is a weekday, so a lot more people would be coming in after work, so the climax of the demonstration may yet be in a few hours time. And they are from all walks of life - young, old male female. and if you ask them why they're here, the specific demand was for this decree to be annulled," she said.

Several other marches were preparing to set off from around the capital to join thousands of protesters already in the square to denounce Morsi's decree.

In the city of Alexandria, several hundred gathered in Qaitbay Square, with two large marches expected to join them later.

"Down with the rule of the Supreme Guide," they chanted, in reference to the head of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, on whose ticket Morsi ran for office.

'Emergency Session'

A rival rally in Cairo by the Muslim Brotherhood in support of the president was called off to "avoid potential unrest" but that has done little to abate the division among supporters and foes of Morsi.

"The Muslim Brotherhood stole the revolution" read one banner in Tahrir.

Another said the president was "pushing the people to civil disobedience."

"The Muslim Brotherhood are liars," read another.

The demonstrations come a day after Morsi met with the country's senior judges in a bid to defuse the crisis over the decree, that has sparked deadly clashes and prompted judges and journalists to call for strike.

On Monday, Morsi met with the nation's top judges and tried to win their acceptance of his decrees. But the move was dismissed by many in the opposition and the judiciary as providing no real concessions.

The senior judges that were in that meeting with Morsi on Monday night "are right now in an emergency session, trying to come up with one united stance - an answer to that meeting", according to our correspondent.

Presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali, said Morsi told the judges that he acted within his rights as the nation's sole source of legislation, assuring them that the decrees were temporary and did not in any way infringe on the judiciary.

He underlined repeatedly that the president had no plans to change or amend his decrees.

'Assault on Independence'

According to a presidential statement late Monday, Morsi told the judges that his decree meant that any decisions he makes on "issues of sovereignty" are immune from judicial review.

The vaguely worded statement did not define those issues, but they were widely interpreted to cover declaration of war, imposition of martial law, breaking diplomatic relations with a foreign nation or dismissing a cabinet.

Morsi's original edict, however, explicitly gives immunity to all his decisions and there was no sign it had been changed.

The statement on Monday did not affect the immunity that Morsi gave the constitutional assembly or the upper chamber of parliament, known as the Shura Council.

It also did not affect the edict that the president can take any measures he sees as necessary to stop threats to the revolution, stability or public institutions. Many see that edict as granting Morsi unlimited emergency powers.

Morsi, who has been in power since June, has said the decrees are necessary to protect the "revolution" and the nation's transition to democratic rule.

The judiciary, the main target of Morsi's edicts, called the decrees a power grab and an "assault" on the branch's independence.