Cairo, January 28: Opposition activists in Egypt vowed to defy a government ban and turn out by the thousands for demonstrations Friday, prompting authorities to apparently cut access to the Internet in an attempt to limit their ability to organize.
Egyptian officials started cutting Internet access in the country early Friday, and also moved to disable text messaging services and disrupt cellphone networks, according to a U.S. official.
The Egyptian shutdown, if continued Friday, could be the most drastic move against anti-government activists’ use of technology since the Iranian government cracked down on protests in 2009. The U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the actions to shut down the Internet and cellphones began after midnight Thursday.
Cairo and other cities were girding for what activists labeled “Angry Friday,” a pivotal moment in their newly energized campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak.
Among those planning to attend was Mohamed ElBaradei, a political reform advocate and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who returned to Egypt after nightfall Thursday with the aim of leading a peaceful transition to democratic government. The former chief of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency could challenge Mubarak in the presidential election in September.
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition group, also said it would take part in the demonstrations, potentially drawing many more people to the streets. While some members of the Islamist group joined protests earlier in the week, the group said it had not been playing an organizing role.
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Neither Mubarak, who has ruled here for 30 years, nor his son, Gamal, a possible successor, has appeared in public since the demonstrations began Tuesday.
But Safwat el-Sharif, secretary general of Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party, expressed sympathy for protesters’ concerns Thursday and said the party was “ready for a dialogue” with youth activists, whom he applauded for expressing their views and described as “Egypt’s future.”
Nevertheless, Sharif discouraged demonstrators from gathering Friday. Egypt’s Interior Ministry has banned all demonstrations and arrested hundreds, defying a call by the United States to allow peaceful protests.
“The minority does not force its will on the majority,” Sharif told journalists as he spoke at his party’s headquarters in Cairo.
–Agencies