At least 18 protesters have been killed as they marked the anniversary of the 2011 uprising in Egypt that toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak, in the bloodiest demonstrations since General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power. A viral video also shows Shaimaa al-Sabbagh, a leading member of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, being shot dead Saturday at a protest near Tahrir Square. “Like all social change, the fight for democracy in Egypt and across the region is going to continue,” says Karim Amer, producer of “The Square,” which documented the Egyptian revolution of 2011 from its roots in Tahrir Square and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2014. “What keeps us optimistic is the same critical mass of young people you saw in ‘The Square’ … are continuing to stand up.” We also speak with film’s director, Jehane Noujaim, about Sanaa El Seif, an assistant producer who worked on “The Square” and is now in prison in Egypt.
Read the interview transcript at Democracy Now!
Categories: Egypt, Foreign affairs, Free speech, History, Human rights, Top stories, World history, World news
World News Forum 
A poem by Shaimaa al-Sabbagh, one of the peaceful protestors killed in Egypt this week.
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With Islamic militants in the Sinai, pledging support for IS, and the Brotherhood still, claiming Morsi, the rightful leader of Egypt, el Sisi has his hands full.
Sisi is also trying to restore the economy, which is suffering greatly since the fall of Mubarak.
I hope when the time comes, that new elections will be reflective of the desires of the Egyptian people.
The young people of Egypt will not give up, and will have the Democracy they crave, or Egypt will be in constant turmoil..
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I appreciate your consideration of the enormous challenges being faced by the Egyptian authorities, and how carefully you have chosen your words in deference to our brothers and sisters in Egypt. It is generous, kind and thoughtful of you, sister.
But the rights of peaceful protest and freedom of speech are fundamental human rights that no government has the right to take away and that no legitimate government should fear. It is never necessary to dispense with them in the name of self-defense. That is a lie promulgated by those who sell the politics of fear to empower themselves.
The time for freedom and democracy must always be here and now. They are not something that can be deferred to some unspecified future time. I was wrong to think otherwise.
Terrorism is neither a religion nor a political ideology but a pattern of behavior that is inherently hostile towards the rights of ordinary people. A society that wantonly murders its own citizens for no more reason than walking down a street has no moral standing whatsoever.
Saimaa al-Sabbagh was not engaged in an act of terrorism. She was walking down a street with a memorial wreath. There can be no justification for her callous murder.
The Egyptian authorities should by now understand how the murder of even one innocent person can galvanize a nation and a world against them.
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