Few dozens assembled with difficulty in Tahrir Square, under immense security presence, to demonstrate against Mubarak’s National Democratic Party’s congress that’s starting tomorrow.

The sit in, organized by Kefaya, should have lasted till the following day, as the ambitious organizers of the event were hoping. However the heavy police presence that prevented groups of demonstrators to assemble, in addition to the weak turn out to start with, meant this was not possible at all.

On my way to Tahrir, I spotted seven Central Security Forces trucks full of conscripts parked in front of the Arab League, and five other trucks and three police vans in Qasr el-Nil Street. (I’m sure there were loads of other trucks parked all over downtown as usual, but I couldn’t spot them where I was.) The center of the square was already occupied by regular police conscripts in white uniforms. Plainclothes security agents could also be seen virtually everywhere.

Only a crowd of at best 70 activists, mainly from the Revolutionary Socialists, Ghad, Karama, and independents, managed to assemble. They were cornered by a CSF ring in the square at the beginning of Qasr el-Nil street. The demonstrators called for the release of political detainees, chanted against the Mubarak family, NDP, corruption… and chanted against the US as the sponsor of Mubarak’s regime, and against Israel, the regime’s ally as protestors put it. Some left wing demonstrators chanted calling for the “execution of the president on charges of high treason,” others called for his assassination a la Sadat.

I tried to leave the demo several times starting from 7pm, as there was a talk by Josh and Samer at the neighboring AUC on their latest MERIP article, but I failed. Security was barring people form leaving or entering, except on a couple of occasions which I missed.

The most cheerful moments for me at the protest, was seeing Youth For Change blogger Mohamed el-Sharqawi, in his first public appearance at a political event, following his release and the end of his prison ordeal.

There were other left wing bloggers present like Salma Said, Mr. GEMYHOoOD, Alaa Seif, Malek. It was also a pleasure meeting a blogger from Zagazig, Asad, who’s one hell of a committed activist. Some of my favorite Egyptian journalists also attended the protest, including Wael Abbas, Abeer el-Askari and Khaled el-Balshi.

I managed to leave the scene finally by 8:30pm. I knew I missed the AUC talk, so decided to go and grab something to eat in the nearby Greek Club. The latter became under siege, and CSF cordoned its entrance sometime after 9pm, as Ghad Party activists assembled and chanted against Mubarak in front of building’s entrance (the party’s HQ is in the last floor of the building overseeing Talaat Harb Sq.)

The sit in was folded at 9:30pm, and demonstrators announced they will be meeting at the Lawyer’s Syndicate on Thursday 7pm for the Kefaya conference on constitutional amendments.