MB Students Protest Gov’t Assault on Civil Liberties Across Universities

In a press conference held at Cairo University, MB students called next Monday October 20 a general day of mourning across Egyptian universities to protest their elimination from student body elections and the assualt on civil liberties and freedom of speech  by universities’ administrations and security forces sanctioned by broader gov’t authoritarian ideology

 

MB students said that on Oct.20, black flags will be raised and flowers will be laid on the “coffin of liberty” in a mock funeral symbolizing the absence of freedoms inside Egyptian universities, stressing that the event will be recalled in history as the day when the student movement rose up against oppression and totalitarianism

 

Delegates from across Egyptian universities including Azhar, Helwan, Ain Shams, Alexandria, Menoufiyyah, Fayyoum, and Zaqazeeq attended the press conference and announced it will participate in the mock funeral.

 

Cairo University MB Student Spokesperson Mohamed Mohyi affirmed that the transgressions of university administrations were clear violations of freedom and democracy, and an abortion to the “hope initiative” they had announced earlier.  Mohyi explained that their elimination from elections, transferral to investigations, and prevention from registering in student university clubs prove the administrations’ weakness and failure in dealing with MB students.  Mohyi further pointed out that MB students will continue their activities, and will not give up on their rights.

 

Mansoura University MB student spokesperson Abdel-Rahman El-Khouly explained that the elimination and constraint on MB students during elections came after they had announced they will focus their activities to help students first and deal with the university’s problems. The university refused this and declared its “war” against MB students by completely shutting down university on election days and by intimidating students and threatening them not to participate in political activities on campuses, as one of the faculty’s deans put it “Any political, religious, or sectarian activities are banned in the university, and exposes its doers to legal and security questioning!!”

 

 

Al-Khouly stressed that MB students will not wear of serving their colleagues and carrying out other useful activities announcing that they had agreed for the third consecutive year to form a free union parallel to that of the university aiming to serve students and solve their problems.

 

 

The conference was concluded with Azhar MB Student Representative Ahmed El-Bitar’s statement announcing students condemnation of their elimination, fraud, constraint, detentions, investigations, and disciplinary punishment sessions despite their limited student participation and their persistence in continuing their journey and duties toward their God, country, and colleagues as much as they can.