Cairo street festival El-Fan Midan endorses 'Rebel' campaign

Organisers of Cairo's El-Fan Midan monthly street festival have announced its endorsement of the anti-Morsi ‘Rebel’ campaign, which officially began on 1 May. The campaign hopes to collect 15 million signatures by 30 June to register opposition to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and his policies and to demand snap presidential elections. Organisers of the ‘Rebel’ campaign announced on Wednesday that the movement has succeeded in gathering 7,540,535 signatures in support of its goals. The campaign organisers believe President Morsi has betrayed the demands of Egypt's January 25 Revolution as the Interior Ministry continues to kill more revolutionaries since his election, and Mubarak-era techniques of kidnapping and terrorising citizens remain, as well as the perpetual breach of Egyptians' dignity, on local and international levels. The organisers of the festival are dedicating 1 June to announce their support of the campaign and call for the withdrawal of confidence from President Morsi in an attempt to ensure the fulfilment of the original goals of the revolution – "bread, freedom and human dignity." On 1 June, members of the 'Rebel' campaign will join the festival in Cairo's Abdeen Square and will be passing out petitions for the audience to sign. The festival will also feature the usual mix of live performances, exhibitions and other cultural activities. El-Fan Midan was launched in April 2011, almost two months after the January 25 Revolution, by a group from the arts and culture community seeking to find tools and platforms for dialogue through art and to disseminate culture to all Egyptians. El-Fan Midan developed into a monthly street festival held on the first Saturday of every month, bringing music, poetry, performing arts and more to Egypt's squares and streets. The festival depends on personal contributions and donations by people who believe artists have the right to share their artwork with the public and people have the right to learn about culture and creativity as fundamental, rather than a mere luxury. For more than two years, the festival has taken place in squares in Cairo and a number of other cities in Egypt's governorates, including Fayoum, Assuit, Menya, Al-Wady Al-Gedeed, Alexandria, Luxor, Suez, Ismailiya, and Gharbiya. From; Ahram Online