CAIRO, Egypt — June 30 proved to be very different from January 2011, which was made to look like a minor protest in comparison. Tens of thousands of protesters spent the night in the epicenter of Egypt’s uprising, Tahrir Square, which by noon couldn’t take any more protesters, as dozens of marches kicked off from almost every neighborhood in Cairo. Until nightfall, masses continued to march to the presidential palace, everyone demanded President Mohammed Morsi’s downfall.
Chants condemning, mocking and harshly insulting Morsi and his organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, echoed across every major street in Cairo as the city was paralyzed by the marching masses. The thunderous mantra, “The people demand the regime’s downfall,” was the only scene reminiscent of the 18-day January 2011 uprising that toppled Egypt’s three-decade dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak.