A hashtag war witnessed on social media since Sunday morning, in light of the calls to demonstrate to oust President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, launched by the actor and former army contractor Mohamed Ali, and activists and politicians interacted with them.
This comes in light of the security services tightening the state of alert in the main streets and squares, with an intense media campaign in support of Sisi, in conjunction with international criticism of Egypt's human rights record, and demands for the release of political detainees.
The hashtags of opposition to the Sisi regime topped the communication sites such as (# Descending_Women_Shaifin) and #Down_the_governance_of_the_of_the_gamer), in contrast, supporters of the regime launched the tag (# you are not alone) in support of the Egyptian president, and they also ridiculed the lack of demonstrations with the hashtag (no one came out).
Regarding the state of security alert, sources told Al-Jazeera on Friday evening that the security services carried out a campaign of arrests against people from the Arab Al-Ma'mal area in Suez after an anti-Sisi stand witnessed in the region.
In turn, the Anadolu News Agency reported that the capital and the Egyptian governorates are witnessing an intense security spread in major squares in the country, and the Al-Jazeera Net correspondent said two days ago that the central Cairo area is witnessing intense security campaigns and searches of passers-by's phones, as well as the detention of some citizens on the pretext of suspicion.
This comes in the context of the actor and contractor Mohamed Ali's call for Egyptians to demonstrate and demand the departure of Sisi, on the first anniversary of the September 20 demonstrations that caused embarrassment to the regime last year.
In an interview during the Midnight Bulletin on Al-Jazeera, Muhammad Ali said that there is unparalleled popular tension and anger in Egypt.
In his speech - from the Spanish city of Barcelona, where he currently resides - he indicated that the Egyptian people have seen scenes of house demolitions in the recent period, and are not afraid to express their anger.
And Mohamed broadcast a video yesterday evening, Saturday, in which he said that nearly half of the state's institutions are now rejecting Sisi, and that there are army officers communicating with him, stressing their bias towards the people if he goes out in mass demonstrations.
Mohamed Ali was a contractor carrying out projects for the Egyptian army before leaving the country and broadcasting a series of videos in which he accused Sisi and senior army commanders based on his tenure with them.
#Nazleen_womesh_khaevin ... the highest in #Egypt after calls to demonstrate against # Sisi pic.twitter.com/TxqI6OL0DH
- Al Jazeera (@AJArabic) September 20, 2020
The hashtag "Nazin and Not Afraid" topped the list of the most popular in Egypt, along with other hashtags against Sisi and his regime. Tweeters confirmed that the Egyptians had broken the barrier of fear after the political and economic deterioration caused by the Sisi regime.
Activists said that Egypt is pregnant with the revolution due to the accumulation of anger at Sisi and his regime, and that it only sees a spark that ignites that revolution.
Some pointed out that the Egyptians ’revolution against Sisi is not limited to September 20, especially with the tightening of the security grip and the bitter experience of repression since the military coup that Sisi led in the summer of 2013.
Many spoke of the continuation of the opposition activities and their failure to stop on a specific date, stressing the importance of accumulation in political and revolutionary action.
Tweeters shared video clips of demonstrations in several cities, which they said went out on Sunday, but it could not be confirmed.
On the other hand, supporters of Sisi launched a tag called "You Are Not Alone" in support of the Egyptian President, and the authorities circulated the slogan to the media, which caused the ridicule of the pioneers of the communication sites, accusing Sisi of making a fake popular industry.
Pro-Sisi accounts said that Egypt will not witness another revolution because of what they described as Sisi's continuous achievements, accusing the opposition of trying to set the streets on fire with the aim of destroying and sabotaging, according to their description.
Others mocked the repetition of calls for demonstrations without a popular response, to which opponents responded by criticizing the security crackdown and deliberately intimidating Egyptians through killing, arrest and torture, as well as distorting and nationalizing political life and the supremacy of one voice in the media.
Today marks the anniversary of the largest crackdown on protesters in Egypt since Al-Sisi came to power.
At least 4,000 people were arrested, including journalists and activists who did not even participate in the protests.
Many are imprisoned on unfounded charges of "terrorism".
They demanded their release!
pic.twitter.com/iyqGLgaYxK
- Amnesty International (@AmnestyAR) September 20, 2020
On the first anniversary of the September 20 demonstrations, Amnesty International called on the Egyptian authorities to release the detainees in the regime's prisons, stressing that there are many people languishing in Egyptian prisons on unfounded charges related to terrorism.
The international organization stated today, Sunday, that the Egyptian authorities launched the largest crackdown a year ago against protesters since Sisi came to power, and that this campaign resulted in the arrest of at least 4,000 people, including journalists and activists who did not participate in the protests.
Amnesty International indicated that the Egyptian authorities wanted, through these arrests, to deliver a message that anyone who dared criticize the government would be crushed.
In a related context, Muslim Brotherhood official Ibrahim Mounir said that Sisi tried to communicate with the Brotherhood years ago, with the aim of ending the political crisis.
During televised statements on Saturday, Mounir said that Sisi offered to release the detainees and return the Brotherhood in exchange for recognition of Sisi's legitimacy, which was rejected by the group at the time.