In this June 2 photo, an Egyptian woman in the Shubra neighborhood in Cairo signs a petition for Tamarod, Arabic for “rebel”, a campaign calling for the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and for early presidential elections. – AP
Renad Ghanem Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The rebel campaign, known as ‘Tamarod', is intensifying as the date to the planed June 30 demonstration against President Mohamed Morsi regime is approaching. According to organizers of this event, more than 15 million Egyptians have signed a petition calling for an early election and to bring down the current president. ‘Tamarod' is calling for all Egyptians to protest everywhere in Egypt on June 30. Mahmoud Badr, a spokesman for ‘Tamarod' campaign said that they are going to collect all petitions and submit it to the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) before June 30 to officially call for Morsi's resignation. Mai Wahba, an official at Tamarod campaign, told the Egyptian daily Youm7 newspaper that Guinness World Record contacted them due to the huge turnout of petitioners against the president. Wahba added that they will be proud if ‘Tamarod' signatures achieved a new record. It will show the world how the Egyptians calls to change their president in democratic and civilized way. The campaign wasn't limited to the Egyptians cities. The campaign targeted Egyptian expatriates all over the world. Egyptian expatriates in the Gulf also were part of the campaign. Mohammed Mughazi, an Egyptian expatriate who is a volunteer for ‘Tamarod' campaign, said that people send ‘Tamarod' forms signatures through email, because they don't have another method. “We don't have a location because ‘Tamarod' campaign is not authorized to operate. We collect signature through volunteer workers. Many Egyptians working here are helping us collecting signatures,” said Mughazi. He added that the Egyptian Embassy don't help them because ‘Tamarod' is consider unofficial. “I can't tell the exact number of the signatures collected until now because we didn't count it yet, but I hope it will increase,” he said. “We respect the rules of Saudi Arabia. We collect the signature randomly from friends and relatives. We were hoping if the embassy could help us. But the embassy is considered an official part of the Egyptian government. They will not help us to collect signatures. It's very hard to reach all the categories here, especially the labor category,” Mughazi said. Morsi swept the votes of Egyptians in the second round Egyptian election in Saudi Arabia. What make it difficult for Tamarod campaign to convince people to petition against the president they have elected. “It is a fact that most Egyptians voted for Morsi here in Saudi Arabia and most of the people who are refusing to participate in ‘Tamarod' are Morsi supporters,” he said. Mughazi added that he had received threats on his mobile many times to stop collecting signatures. “We will send all the petition forms through email to the main campaign of ‘Tamarod' in Egypt. We tried to cover the Egyptians around Saudi Arabia but it's not easy,” he said. Mughazi added that they have a page on Facebook for Egyptian expatriates in Saudi Arabia that include about 3,000 Egyptian. Ahmed Emara, an Egyptian engineer who singed on Tamarod form, said that he believes that it's time for Egyptians to stand and ask for their right as they did in January 25th revolution. “I voted for Morsi, but now I singed ‘Tamarod' form against him. He had many chances and he didn't show any progress in economy and security,” said Emara. Shimaa Hassan, an Egyptian who also singed ‘Tamarod' form, said that all of her family in Egypt signed and they will participate in the protests. “I don't care about the number of the people who singed the forms of ‘Tamarod.' I'm proud that Egyptians show the world once again that no one can break their will,” she said. On the other hand, Abduwahab Ahmad, a local Egyptian engineer said that he is against any form of demonstration. He said, “I wish if the Egyptian people would stand behind Morsi and support him. He was after all elected. People who wants to bring him down, should do that in the next election. Demonstrations will harm us more.”
