CAIRO — A government-backed referendum Wednesday on whether to hold Egypt's first competitive presidential election provoked an opposition boycott and violence as men shouting pro-regime slogans beat anti-government demonstrators in the capital.
Uniformed policemen looked on, and occasionally joined in, while pro-government supporters kicked and punched demonstrators and journalists covering the protests. The assailants hoisted pictures of longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and shouted vows to sacrifice their blood for him. Lines of riot police and plainclothes security officers cornered demonstrators so they could not escape.
Women were surrounded, groped and had their clothes torn. Some demonstrators were thrown down flights of concrete stairs, dragged by their hair and kicked by swarms of young men.
Egypt's security forces are known for intimidating opposition leaders and torturing prisoners. But although the last several months of pro-democracy street protests have been fraught with arrests and intimidation, they have generally remained peaceful.
The boycott and attacks on opposition protesters could impede Mubarak's efforts to show the West that he is enacting democratic reforms. The violence could also undermine claims by the Bush administration that democracy is taking root in Egypt.
Wednesday was the first time the anti-Mubarak movement has been met with blatant violence in Cairo. Plainclothes and uniformed security officers helped and sometimes appeared to direct the attacks. Five opposition activists were arrested in the capital, and dozens more were detained in the smaller Suez Canal city of Ismailiya.
"This is a message for us," said Rabaa Fahmi, a 38-year-old lawyer who was punched, kicked and had her clothes ripped from her body during clashes outside the headquarters of the journalists guild.
She huddled in a nearby law office and struggled to close her blouse with safety pins. "They know we're Eastern women and any kind of abuse makes us ashamed and embarrassed," she said. "This is a very clear message that if you take to the streets you'll be attacked."
The official results of the referendum won't be announced until today, but there was little suspense. Mubarak's push to amend the constitution to allow competitive elections was widely expected to win voters' approval. The nation's largest opposition parties joined the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in calling for a boycott.
