CAIRO – Thousands of demonstrators waved red cards in Tahrir Square on Sunday to demand the resignation of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi, as the spirit of 2011's revolution returned to the iconic Cairo protest venue. “The people want the ouster of the regime!” protesters chanted – the signature slogan of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak and brought Morsi to power. Jubilant men, women and children brandished red cards, blowing whistles and vuvuzelas and chanting “Leave, Morsi!” “This is the second revolution and Tahrir is the symbol of the revolution. The revolution will be launched from here,” said Ibrahim Hammouda, a carpenter who had came from the northern city of Damietta to join the protests. In 2011, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to end Mubarak's authoritarian three-decade rule, they held up posters of regime figures with their faces crossed out. This time, protesters are holding pictures of senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails. The office of Morsi said dialogue is the only way out of Egypt's political crisis. “Dialogue is the only way through which we can reach an understanding... The presidency is open to a real and serious national dialogue,” presidential spokesman Ehab Fahmy told reporters. He urged protesters to maintain “the peaceful nature” of their protest, pointing to the anti-Morsi rallies as proof of freedom of expression in Egypt. In one camp are the president and his Islamist allies, including the Muslim Brotherhood and more hard-line groups. They say street demonstrations cannot be allowed to remove a leader who won a legitimate election, and they accuse Mubarak loyalists of being behind the campaign in a bid to return to power. They have argued that for the past year remnants of the old regime have been sabotaging Morsi's attempts to deal with the nation's woes and bring reforms. On the other side of the spectrum is an array of secular and liberal Egyptians, moderate Muslims, Christians — and what the opposition says is a broad sector of the general public that has turned against the Islamists. They say the Islamists have negated their election mandate by trying to monopolize power, infusing government with their supporters, forcing through a constitution they largely wrote and giving religious extremists a free hand, all the while failing to properly manage the country. “Today is the Brotherhood's last day in power,” said Suliman Mohammed, a manager of a seafood company who was protesting at Tahrir, where crowds neared 100,000 by early afternoon. “I came here today because Morsi did not accomplish any of the (2011) revolution's goals. I don't need anything for myself, but the needs of the poor were not met.” Another Tahrir protester, 21-year-old Mohammed Abdel-Salam, said he came out because he wanted early presidential elections. – Agencies
