Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Could Egypt Be Heading for a General Strike?

The uprising to topple Mubarak and his regime is still going strong, putting to rest concerns that it might fizzle after the weekend.  Al Jazeera and other news services reported yesterday that the crowds were being swelled by a lot of new faces as more Egyptians decide to take a stand against the government.

A big development today is that thousands of unionized factory workers are walking out.

Egyptian labour unions have gone on a nationwide strike, adding momentum to pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo and other cities.

Al Jazeera correspondents, reporting from Egypt, said around 20,000 factory workers stayed away from work on Wednesday.

"  It is a significant gain for the pro-democracy supporters"   if the unions get involved in demonstrations, Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid reported from Cairo.

Secret police chief, torture meister and vice president, Omar Suleiman, has made grumblings or veiled threats, warning that the government "cannot put up with continued protests" for a long time.   Isn't that what the protesters are also thinking?

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