2008 Egyptian General Strike - April 6: Day of The Strike

April 6: Day of The Strike

The strike at Mahalla was to have begun at 7 a.m. but plain clothes security personnel and police infiltrated the factory and allegedly intimidated workers from striking. Hundreds of plainclothes security men took control of the Mahalla textile factories before work began, seizing workers and forcing them to work. At the end of the day, police escorts led small groups of workers out of the factories in an attempt to discourage mass protests. This led some in the press to call the strike a failure and many left the region (about an hour outside Cairo) before any violence started. Two people, including a 15-year-old-boy, were killed by Egyptian police, who used tear gas, rubber bullets, and live ammunition against the striking workers and other protesters. Several leaders of opposition parties have been detained, including the Kifaya coordinator Mohamed el-Ashqar, Freedom Commission Rapporteur of the Labor Party Mohamed Abdel Kodous, prominent activist and Kifaya member Magdy Qarqar, and blogger Sharkawy (who was sodomized and tortured by Egyptian police in 2006), and others.

Official media channels controlled by the Egyptian government discouraged citizens from participating in the strike, and law enforcement officials warned that protesters could be punished with three months to one year in jail. Thousands of police lined the streets in downtown Cairo near the universities and in Mahalla in attempt to initimidate people and prevent them from participating. There were no protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square (most likely due to strong police presence; at least some protesters were chased from the square by police), though students at Ain Shams, Helwan and Cairo universities held demonstrations. Many people did stay home in solidarity with the protesters and out of fear of possible violence, with the streets of Cairo noticeably quiet and more stores than usual shuttered for the day.