AMMAN — Around 100 Jordanian activists gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in Amman on Saturday to celebrate the third anniversary of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising and protest against the ouster of Egypt’s former president Mohamed Morsi.
Security personnel who were present at the demonstration, organised by the Jordanian Commission to Support Freedom and Legitimacy in Egypt, outnumbered the protesters.
A number of employees at the Egyptian embassy were seen taking photos of the demonstrators.
Participants waved the Egyptian and Jordanian flags and held banners expressing solidarity with protesters at Rabaa Al Adawiya Square in northeast Cairo, where security forces killed hundreds of people on August 14 while breaking up a sit-in by Muslim Brotherhood supporters.
The protesters had set up camp there in solidarity with ousted Islamist president Morsi, who was elected after the January 25 revolution.
The Jordanian activists took turns speaking about the anniversary and condemning Morsi's ouster.
They also performed the Maghrib prayer outside the embassy.
Abdul Hadi Falahat, the president of Jordanian Commission to Support Freedom and Legitimacy in Egypt, said Jordanians support Egyptians in their quest to regain democracy and freedom.
"The military coup that took place in Egypt will contribute to destroying Arabs' determination towards democracy," he told The Jordan Times during the demonstration.
Ahmad Saafeen, one of the demonstrators, said January 25 is significant, marking the day when people took a stand against oppression and injustice.
He also noted that Egypt experienced great days full of justice and hard work under Morsi's rule.
Muhannad Shatnawi said people became aware of their rights and how to choose the best leaders on January 25, while Mohammad Ali noted that Egyptians did not regain full freedom with the removal of Hosni Mubarak after some 30 years in power.
"The intention of keeping military rule in Egypt was there in the first place. Only one person was removed, not a whole system," Ali said.
He charged that there is a conspiracy against Egypt because it is one of the leading countries in the Arab world.
"If the Egyptian revolution had been successful, it would have inspired all Arab nations to demonstrate against their oppressive regimes," he claimed.
