Egypt's Continuing Revolution: Month 14, Week 4, Day 3.

Today marked the start of the Muslim Brotherhood's promised week of demonstrations. The plan was that they would hold 8 marches across Cairo.

Six of these would start at various Mosques in Giza before converging outside the Supreme Constitutional Court close to Ramsis Square. Personally I would consider this as one march because it's an old western protest tactic dating back to at least the 1980's to have separate marches from various locations snaking around a city in order paralyse it before converging on a single location for an occupation/protest camp. The other two marches would start at undisclosed locations before converging on Roxy Square. As there is a cinema called "The Ritzy" in Windrush Square in Brixton, London, UK I think the intention here was to confuse the Egyptian security forces as to which of these protests would form the basis for the Brotherhood's new protest camp.

As it turns out the Brotherhood were forced to cancel the two Roxy Square marches citing 'security concerns.' I think this means that the Brotherhood were unable to raise enough supporters to stage all eight marches so instead attempted to concentrate their support on the one big march. However if you listen to the Brotherhood they claim that the two Roxy Square marches were cancelled because 'the routes were packed with the paid thugs and snipers of the Zionist puppet junta of the illegitimate putschist military dictatorship.' Either way the Brotherhood went on to call for supporters to stage nighttime protests against the curfew in cities across Egypt. As people the world over seem to be more happy into engage in violence after dark I would say this was a clear incitement to violence by the Brotherhood. Fortunately though only a limited number of people were prepared to answer this call mainly in the suburbs of Cairo and the security forces seem to be dealing with them with no injures or deaths being reported so far.

There has though been an apparent outbreak of serious violence at the Abu Zabaal prison in northern Cairo. According to the Muslim Brotherhood 38 of their "kidnapped" brethren were being transported in a prison van when it was attacked by "thugs" in the pay of the of 'the illegitimate putschist military dictatorship.' The Brotherhood's public statement was intended to challenge the assertion that they are terrorists by repeating Al Jazeera's oft repeated line that the 'illigitimate putschist military dictatorship' was using the "terrorist" label in order to deny Brotherhood prisoners due process under the law. However under martial law/state of emergency caused by the Brother what is meant by "due process" exactly is still very much up for debate.

According to pretty much every other source on the planet though what happened at Abu Zabaal prison is that around 40 Muslim Brotherhood prisoners instigated a small riot in order to take at least 1 prison guard hostage  presumably in an effort to negotiate either their release or better conditions. In their rush to free their colleague the other prison guards rushed in all guns blazing killing 36 of the prisoners in the process. Although I doubt it was the prisoners plan this incident does rather play out Wednesday's camp clearances in microcosm. Although they are operating under extreme pressure from enemies both inside and outside of Egypt there is a general feeling that Egypt's security forces were too heavy handed in their rush to clear the camps and they need to tone it down in future.

On the plus side though roughly some 50 days after they refused to join the government of national unity the Brotherhood appear to be ready to come to the negotiating table. However it must be said if this is going to be their attitude they're not welcome.

21:35 on 18/8/13.