VZCZCXYZ0019
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #0697/01 0981446
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071446Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8833
INFO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS CAIRO 000697 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PGOV PHUM ECON EG
SUBJECT: DAY OF PROTESTS LARGELY QUIET, BUT VIOLENT CLASH 
ERUPTS IN NILE DELTA 
 
REF: CAIRO 563 
 
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Summary 
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1.(SBU) A heavy and active security presence largely quelled 
a planned April 6 national day of protests, but fatal clashes 
between police and protestors erupted in the Nile Delta mill 
town of Mehalla el Kobra.  Whether due to calls by protest 
organizers to stay home, worry over potential public 
disorder, or the arrival of a seasonal sandstorm, many 
Egyptian university students nonetheless refrained from 
attending class, and Cairo's streets were noticeably emptier 
than usual.  End summary. 
 
---------------- 
A Day of Protest 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Despite calls by labor activists and many opposition 
groups for a nationwide day of strikes and protests on April 
6, heavy security intervention and stern warnings from the 
Ministry of Interior appear to have kept outward displays of 
protest to a minimum.  Violent clashes between police and 
protestors did occur, however, in the Nile Delta textile town 
of Mehalla el Kobra, leading to at least two deaths and an 
undetermined number of arrests.  Textile workers at the 
public Ghazl el Mehalla (aka Mehalla Spinning and Weaving) 
textile factory originally conceived the day of protests as a 
means to further their calls for an increased minimum wage 
and to criticize rising prices of basic commodities (reftel), 
but other opposition groups such as the Kefaya movement soon 
joined the call to highlight their own grievances with the 
Mubarak government.  In recent years Mehalla el Kobra has 
been the epicenter of mass, illegal strikes against Egypt's 
public textile factories as well as the proving ground for an 
emerging independent labor leadership. 
 
------------------- 
Violence in Mehalla 
------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Although an intense security presence inside the 
factory had snuffed out plans for a mass strike at the Ghazl 
el Mehalla textile factory, it did not prevent violent 
clashes between police and protesters from erupting on the 
streets of the town.  Under heavy pressure from the GOE, 
senior Mehalla labor leaders had agreed to halt their strike 
plans despite the desire of some workers to carry on with the 
protest.  It is unclear what or who precipitated the 
violence, but sometime between 3 and 4pm (coinciding with the 
shift change at the factory), confrontations erupted between 
police and protestors and Mehalla residents who were 
gathering on a public square.  Protestors hurled rocks at 
riot police who according to several activists responded with 
live fire and tear gas. (Photographs from the confrontation 
forwarded to NEA/ELA.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Arab Committee for Human Rights issued a 
statement claiming that a 21-year-old man and 9-year-old boy 
were killed, although some labor activists claim that several 
more died in the clashes.  One Mehalla labor activist told 
NGO contacts that while hiding out in the local hospital to 
evade arrest by the police, he heard from hospital staff that 
four had been killed in the rioting, including children.  NGO 
contacts witnessed several shops being looted and set alight, 
as well as the demolition of a gas station. 
 
----------------------------- 
A Day of Protests that Wasn't 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) In Cairo, despite relatively small gatherings 
outside the lawyers' and press syndicate buildings, the mass 
gathering planned by opposition group Kefaya for Cairo's 
central square failed to materialize.  Some contacts believe 
the early arrests of opposition and student activists, 
combined with stern warnings from the Ministry of Interior 
against joining in the illegal protests, as well as a heavy 
sandstorm, dampened public enthusiasm for the protests.  The 
Muslim Brotherhood, arguably the most dynamic and popular 
opposition force in the country, announced in the days 
leading up to April 6 that it morally backed the strike, but 
did not plan to participate, as it had not been involved in 
its organization. 
 
¶6. (SBU) An Amcit Arabic language student at the American 
University Cairo said that perhaps only 20% of her Egyptian 
 
 
classmates were present, and she had heard that a number of 
professors had also stayed home.  Press reports also note 
high student absenteeism at Cairo, Helwan, and Ain Shams 
universities.  Traffic on Cairo's congested roadways seemed 
extraordinarily light throughout the day and early evening. 
RICCIARDONE