CAIRO – Several hundred Egyptian protesters attempted to block parliamentary buildings in Cairo on Wednesday as part of their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year-old regime.
The building was protected by troops backed by armoured vehicles, but there was no violence, with protesters instead staging a sit-in to blockade the lower house, just as others have occupied Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
Parliament is dominated by Mubarak’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), thanks to tight rules on who can stand for election, and the protesters said they saw it as part of his autocratic regime.
“We came to prevent the NDP members from entering. We will stay until our demands are met or we will die here,” said 25-year-old Mohammed Abdullah, as the crowd chanted anti-Mubarak slogans and waved Egyptian flags.
