Information minister wants calm at Media City

Egypt’s Minister of Information Salah Abdel-Maksoud has appealed to demonstrators responsible for clashes in front of the October 6 City’s Media Production City to “keep away from entry and exit gates and keep demonstrations peaceful.” While Abdel-Maksoud has acknowledged Egyptians’ right to demonstrate, he suggested ongoing protests were hampering the “performance of some media channels.” Demonstrators should submit complaints to Media Production City or judicial authorities, the minister said, rather than disturbing the work of journalists within the building. Media Production City, in Cairo’s October 6 City district, has witnessed clashes throughout the country’s revolutionary period, with Islamists blaming Egyptian media channels for endangering the gains of the 2011 uprising against former dictator Hosni Mubarak.