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| Africa North |
| Former Egyptian premier to lead transitional government |
| 2011-11-25 |
| Egypt's ruling military council has officially named former Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri to lead a transitional government, according to state TV. Thousands were seen in Tahrir Square in protest of the appointment. As thousands of protesters were seen streaming into Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, in protest against Egypt's military council, state TV reported that former premier Kamal al-Ganzouri had been named interim leader of Egypt by the council. The activists had demanded that the military council, which has ruled Egypt since February, hand over power to a transitional government that would lead the country until a presidential election next June. They were also vehemently against Ganzouri taking over, even on an interim basis, due to his connections to the ousted regime. Ganzouri served as Egyptian prime minister from 1996 to 1999 under ousted President Hosni Mubarak. The previous civilian cabinet, led by Essam Sharaf, resigned earlier this week amid violent protests, which left at least 41 people dead - 36 of them in Cairo - and more than 2,000 injured. After intense international pressure, the military issued an apology on Thursday for the deaths, and in a statement offered "its condolences to the families of the martyrs across Egypt." The military council has again vowed that the parliamentary election will go ahead as planned on Monday, saying it would do everything in its power to prevent the repetition of the violence that swept Cairo and Alexandria, the country's second city, over the last week. Despite calls to step down immediately, the military ruled out any such move. "The people have entrusted us with a mission and if we abandon it now, it would be a betrayal of the people," said General Mukthar el-Mallah, a senior member of the ruling military council. Mallah also said the military respected the views of the protesters, but that they did not represent the whole of Egypt. "We will not relinquish power because a slogan-chanting crowd said so. Being in power is not a blessing. It is a curse. It's a very heavy responsibility," he said. Protesters blame the military for the country's tenuous security and growing economic problems. The military's standing was dealt a severe blow during a Coptic Christian protest on October 9, in which 27 people died, most of them Christians. Video showed soldiers running down demonstrators with armored vehicles. |
| Posted by:tipper |