Groups announce plans for January 25

The third anniversary of the January 25 revolution will witness mass gatherings in support of the current government, as well as a number of protests, with some demanding the return of former president Mohamed Morsi, and others calling for the original demands of the January uprisings in 2011.

In a press conference on Wednesday, the Revolution Path Front announced that it will organize two marches to Tahrir Square on January 25, one leaving from Mostafa Mahmoud mosque in Mohandiseen at 1 pm and the other leaving at 2 pm from the Journalists Syndicate.

The Revolution Path Front was inaugurated in September, with an aim to focus on the demands of the revolution and offer a third alternative to the Muslim Brotherhood and the military.

The April 6 Youth Movement, the Revolutionary Socialists, and other groups announced that they would join the marches of the coalition on 25 January.

In a statement posted by the April 6 Youth Movement on their Facebook page, which was signed by all the groups that they will collaborate with on that day, the Muslim Brotherhood are accused of abandoning the revolutionary forces after they reached power in 2012.

They also accuse the powers of the old regime of using the same pretexts that Mubarak used, namely “stability” and “security”, in order to crack down on peaceful protesters and reinstate pre-revolution injustices.

The groups demand “real democracy that doesn’t end at the ballot boxes,” demanding that the freedom to assemble and mobilize to be guaranteed. They also demand equal distribution of wealth, freedom, institutional reform, and a system of transitional justice to ensure accountability for all those responsible for violations of the rights of the people.

The Revolutionary Socialists also called for a march on Thursday to be the “igniting flare” ahead of January 25. The march is planned to start in Uruguay Square in Ain Shams. They announced their demands for the anniversary in a statement, which include implementing a system of minimum and maximum wage and the removal of the interior minister.

The Anti-Coup Alliance, which represents the powers rejecting the current government and demanding the return of former President Morsi, also released a statement on Wednesday with its vision for January 25. The group announced that its protests would start on January 24 with “the Friday of revolutionary defiance,” and will continue until February 11, commemorating the day that Mubarak stepped down from power.

The alliance attempted to invite other powers to join it in the day’s protests; however, activist groups such as the April 6 Youth Movement and the Revolutionary Socialists refused to join forces with the Islamist coalition.

Other groups are calling for January 25 to be a celebration, and an occasion to pressure Military Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for president. Thus far, Sisi has been vague about his intent to run for the presidential race. The Egypt is My Country Front, whose members include former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa and former Interior Minister Ahmed Gamal Eddin, announced that it would mobilize for marches on January 25 to support Sisi for president.

The Egyptian Trade Union Federation also announced a celebration on January 25 with the same aim.

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