Egypt police disperse activists rallying against anti-protest law

Police in Egypt fired tear gas and water cannons Tuesday to disperse dozens of activists protesting police brutality in Cairo and a controversial new law forbidding protests held without a permit from authorities.

Clouds of tear gas filled Talaat Harb square in central Cairo but protesters were defiant, picking up the canisters and throwing them back at police and tossing rocks at armored vehicles.

Earlier in the day, police used water cannons to disperse two other protests, enforcing the law and fueling a backlash among secular activists and liberals who accuse the military-backed government of accelerating down a path even more authoritarian than the Hosni Mubarak era.

“They don’t want anyone in the streets anymore. Not us, not the Islamists,” said Rasha Azab, a political activist who took part in Tuesday’s rally that was broken up by security forces.

In one of the protests, about 11 secular activists held a rally in downtown Cairo to commemorate the death of protester Gaber Salah, known by the nickname “Gika,” at the hands of police a year ago. Police quickly deployed to the area.

As protesters gathered, a police officer came out in front of an armored vehicle and told the crowd they had no permit, the activist Azab said. The officer gave two warnings before the police fired water cannons.

The clashes between security forces and secular youth activists are a new front after months of a heavy – and far bloodier – crackdown on Islamists since the army deposed President Mohammed Morsi.

Criticism of the new law came even from some of the new government’s supporters, who warned that the law will increase opposition and could push secular activists into a common cause with Islamists.

The loose coalition of secular and liberal politicians and revolutionary activists provided some key credibility to the military’s July 3 ousting of Morsi – Egypt’s first democratically-elected leader.

The coalition supported the military’s move, calling it necessary for a democratic, secular Egypt, and accusing Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood of subverting the hopes for change after Mubarak’s fall in 2011.

Its factions backed the military and government, or at least remained silent, when security forces brutally crushed pro-Morsi camps in August, killing hundreds.

Now, many young and secular activists mistrust the military and have been further angered by the process of amending the Morsi-era constitution, largely done behind closed doors, because it is likely to ensure greater powers for the military and the president.

They believe the protest law aims to prevent criticism of the new document, due to be put to a public referendum in January. The government says the law is needed to restore security and rein in near-daily protests by Morsi supporters demanding his reinstatement.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement today that the law raises concerns because it does not meet international standards and will not move Egypt’s transition forward.

“We urge the interim government to respect individual rights, and we urge that the new constitution protect such rights,” she said.

Al Jazeera and wire services