Khaled Ali takes part in the Labour Day march, Tuesday, March to Tahrir Square (Photo: Mai Shaheen)
Leftist presidential candidate Khaled Ali announces his intention to halt campaigning for presidency following recent attacks near the ministry of interior in Abbasiya, Cairo, that have so far left at least nine citizens dead.
The principle reason for the decision, says Ali, is to protest the current use of force against revolutionaries that he sees as a deja vu of the Battle of the Camel that took place during the initial 18-day uprising of the January 25 Revolution - only this time it is in Abbasiya.
"The media has succeeded in distorting the image of the revolutionaries and their sit-in by alienating them from the Egyptian public, which has, in turn, resulted in the justification of the violence carried out against them," asserted Ali.
On Monday Ali visited the site of the clashes to stand in support of the sit-in at the ministry, protesting against the military council.
"I was surprised by the waves of attacks against me for standing in support with the protesters in Abbasiya on Monday. Today, we wake up to a new massacre that took the lives of several and injured many more," stated Ali.
A renowned lawyer and activist, Ali has made his name promoting social justice and defending the rights of workers, peasants, and students over the course of the last two decades.
Ali announced his intention to run for president in March 2012 on a platform of achieving the revolutions goals. His presidential campaign emphasises social equity, the redistribution of wealth, civil liberties and the revolutionary course as a continuing struggle.
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