Protests ahead of Sisi’s visit to the UK

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. (wikipedia)

As Egypt’s president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi arrives in London for planned discussions with Prime minister David Cameron on 4th November, a broad coalition of Egyptian and British groups calls for demonstrations against him on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Hundreds of people are expected to join protests outside Downing Street against the visit of the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, who is accused of abusing human rights’ in Egypt.

Sameh Shafi, coordinator of one of the protest groups, Stop Sisi, said: “We’re going to make life very difficult for him. The worst thing would be for him to walk in scot-free. The aim is to show the opposite of what he’s showing – that he’s a legitimate president, everyone loves him. The aim of the protest is to show that he’s not that person, to show the exact opposite of the message [he wants to convey] and make him famous for his crimes.

“I think the British politicians and everyone here need to understand that his only selling point – that he’s a military man who brings stability – is the exact opposite of what’s happening [in Egypt].”

Stop Sisi, is one of the biggest protest groups participating, with a twitter account that’s named “Who is Sisi”, they kept advertising for their demonstrations on Downing Street under the title “Dictator is coming.” They’ve managed to get a big number of sponsors to solidify their situation.

At a press conference on Tuesday at Church House in central London, the groups behind the protest stressed that they are a broad church. The commentator and Spectator contributing editor Peter Oborne, who will speak at Wednesday’s protest, said: “This is not a matter of right or left. This is a matter of right and wrong, and it’s entirely wrong that Sisi is coming to Britain.”

Among the other organisations involved are Egypt Solidarity Initiative, Federation of Student Islamic Societies, 6th April Youth Movement, Muslim Association of Britain, Stop the War Coalition and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). Representatives from the National Union of Students are also expected to attend.

The protest organizers accuse Sisi of being Egypt’s latest dictator, waging war on free speech and presiding over a regime in which tens of thousands of his political opponents have been jailed and tortured. People have criticized him for the Rabaa massacre of 14 August 2013, in which estimates of the death toll ranged from 800 to well over 1,000. Human Rights Watch described it as “one of the world’s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history”.