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| Africa North | |
| Egyptians demand army retreat from power | |
| 2012-04-21 | |
CAIRO: Tens of thousands of Egyptians demanded yesterday that their military rulers stick to a pledge to hand over power by mid-year after a row over who can run in the presidential election raised doubts about the armyÂ’s commitment to democracy.
“We are all here to protect the revolution and complete its demands,” said Sayed Gad, 38, a pharmacist and Brotherhood member. He had joined a protest which attracted both Islamists and liberals to a packed Tahrir Square in central Cairo. A council of generals, who stepped in 14 months ago after mass demonstrations in Tahrir and elsewhere sapped Mubarak’s power, has led Egypt through a turbulent transition punctuated by spasms of violence and frequent protests against their handling of the move to democracy. The army says it will stick to its timetable to hand power to a new president by July 1 and has promised to oversee a fair vote. But some remarks from military officials suggesting the army might also seek now to have a new constitution in place before that handover — an impossibly tight deadline for many — has added to popular worries about the military’s ambitions. Western diplomats expect the timetable for transferring powers to hold but say the army which supplied Egypt’s presidents for six decades, including Mubarak, and which has built up sprawling business interests throughout that time, will remain an influential player behind the scenes for years. “Down with military rule” and “The people want the execution of the marshal,” some protesters chanted, a reference to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak’s defense minister for two decades who now leads the ruling military council. Some demonstrators sheltered under awnings and umbrellas to shade them from the midday sun. Many waved Egyptian flags. Thousands also gathered in the second city Alexandria and turned out in some other cities. The hours after weekly prayers at mosques on Fridays are traditional times for protests. “No to remnants. No to military rule,” read one banner that carried pictures of Mubarak’s last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force commander, and of Moussa, a former foreign minister. They are both strong contenders, especially now that the Brotherhood’s Shater has been disqualified. From a stage in Tahrir Square where his supporters had also gathered yesterday, people chanted over loudspeakers: “Islamic revolution! With our soul and blood, we sacrifice for Islam!” and “The Qur'an is the constitution!” | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Straight from the last meeting at the White House surrender or we will put a sand embargo in place! |
| Posted by: Elmusose Ebbeagum1139 2012-04-21 08:21 |
| #1 A whiff of grapeshot coming up? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2012-04-21 05:39 |