March for Egyptian Democracy in Washington

A demonstration that began in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Washington today became a march to the White House, with 400-500 demonstrators processing down Connecticut Avenue chanting in English and Arabic, calling on Hosni Mubarak and the rest of the Egyptian leadership to yield to Egyptians' demands for democracy. I cut together a few photos and a recording of the march into the video below:

In conversations with some of the leaders of the demonstration, themselves Egyptian expats, they explained the demonstration as a show of support for the protesters on the ground in Egypt and a call for democratic elections. The organizers felt positively about President Obama's remarks last night, stressing that Egyptians were revolting on their own-- and did not need American help in organizing from the bottom up-- but that realigning American aid from military support for Mubarak's regime to greater support of Egyptian civil society would help Egypt build a strong democracy.

It was an impressive sight, so many people out in support of their countrymen half a world away. Images of the rally may not make it to Cairo soon-- internet access is still shut down, and little information is getting in or out of the country-- but it's great to see so many people standing in solidarity.

Higher resolution versions of the photos are available here.