New Alignment Forms To Oppose Morsi Decree
Sara Khorshid reports from Cairo on how Morsi's decree has forged a new alignment — among democrats of the 2011 revolutionaries who overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and former Mubarak supporters.
CAIRO — After President Mohammed Morsi issued a constitutional declaration granting himself sweeping powers, including immunity for his decisions against appeal, the country has risen up in turbulence.The scene has the air of confusion. In Tahrir Square and the streets stemming from it, there have been demonstrations, intermittent clashes and a sit-in that lasted for several days till Tuesday's larger number of demonstrators made Tahrir glow while marches roamed Cairo and other governorates.
Earlier Tuesday, not only Tahrir was busy in protest against Morsi's decree, but also the area outside the presidential palace, where other demonstrators gathered around the president as he made the case for his decisions.
When the revolution started in 2011, the division was simply between anti-Mubarak and pro-Mubarak forces. All revolutionaries with various affiliations and orientations gathered in Tahrir; and Mubarak's supporters, who were clearly lesser in number, protested elsewhere.
But this time, Morsi's decree has polarized the country along new lines.
