Sean Penn Visits Tahrir Square to Show Support for Protesting Egyptians
Actor Sean Penn joined Egyptian activists in downtown Cairo Sept. 30 in protest of the military ruler's slow transfer of power back to civilians in hopes of ending emergency laws once used by Hosni Mubarak against his competitors.
With thousands of people packed together in Tahrir Square, Penn toted an Egyptian flag and walked with Egyptian actor Khaled el-Nabawi.
"The world is inspired by the call for freedom by the courageous revolution of Egypt for its freedom," Penn said to Al-Ahram's online newspaper.
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Penn continued, "Clearly that is not a completion overnight, there are still struggles forward, there are constitutional issues, there is...a transition of power from the military to the people."
Nabawi wanted Penn to come to Egypt in an effort to prove to the rest of the country that it is still a safe place to visit despite the uprising.
Nov. 28 marks the first day of parliamentary elections and will feature a mixed system of proportional representation and individual lists. Political groups fear the election because they feel this will allow Mubarak supporters back into office.
"This week is different because we feel that our revolution has been stolen from us," said 38-year-old Yasser Fouad to reporters as he then encouraged people to keep the protest peaceful.
The Egyptian government declared that the state of emergency was over last Friday, but say they will remain in power until next year.
The presidential candidates' released a statement saying, "The state of emergency in place now will come to an end on September 30, 2011, in accordance with article 59 of the constitutional decree, and any decision or judicial ruling issued after September 30, 2011 based on the state of emergency will be null of any legal or constitutional legitimacy."
Candidates also want the government to reinstate a law dating back to the 1950s that governs abuse of office in hopes they can remove all traces of the Mubarak regime.
The Al-Akhbar newspaper said the reports are being considered.
