Worse still for the president, the police failure to dismantle the camp has encouraged protests elsewhere.

Only 80 of the original 6,000 inhabitants are left after a five-day operation to dismantle the camp.

Then they began to push back and the security forces, despite inflicting scores of casualties, were prevented from dismantling the camp.

Unless at least eight more volunteers can be found, the last four residents will start dismantling the camp next month and replace it with a garden.

The government dismantled the camp a few years later.