CAIRO: A ceramic tile mural with images of Egypt’s presidents; Nasser, Sadat and Abdel Fatah al-Sisi was installed in Cairo’s main metro station to mark the New Suez Canal inauguration ceremony scheduled for Thursday.
The move has raised the ire of supporters of Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak who was toppled in the 2011 uprising. Followers of the Asfeen ya Rayes (Sorry Mr. President) facebook page expressed their anger over ignoring Mubarak in such a historical event.
“A ceramic mural will not change the history nor the fact that Mubarak, with all his advantages and disadvantages, was the president of Egypt for 30 years. He maintained security and peace in Egypt and traffic through the Canal was not disrupted for a single day during his reign,” Prince Ranoush; a follower of the facebook page wrote Sunday.
 
Metro authority spokesperson Ahmed Abdel Hady told al-Watan newspaper Sunday that other three ceramic murals are to be installed in other major metro stations.
“Nasser has nationalized the Suez Canal, Sadat has reopened it in 1974 after 7-year closure following the Six-Day War while Sisi launched the digging of the New Suez Canal project digging the New Suez Canal,” Abdel Hady said without explaining why Mubarak’s images were excluded from the wall mural.
Thirteen similar ceramic tile murals with different sizes are to be installed in different locations across the canal during the inauguration ceremony, according to Al-Watan newspaper.
During the past two days, the move was also criticized by several media figures including TV presenter Ahmed Moussa; known for his support for Mubarak.
Moreover, Cairo Metro will operate free of charge Thursday from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM to commemorate the event, Transport Minister Hany Dahy was quoted as saying by Youm7.