EGYPT:MORE THAN a million Egyptians rallied yesterday in Tahrir Square at the heart of Cairo in a victory march to mark the first week anniversary of the removal of Hosni Mubarak, who ruled the country for 30 years. Outside the capital, hundreds of thousands took part in demonstrations that also honoured the 365 people who died and 5,500 who were wounded during the uprising.
Tanks and armoured vehicles remained in place at the entrances to Tahrir (Liberation) Square. The supreme military command, which assumed power when Mubarak resigned, showed solidarity with the people by dispatching a military band to play patriotic and popular songs, distributing red, white and black Egyptian flags, and ordering soldiers and military police in red berets to mingle with the cheerful crowd.
In his sermon at the Muslim noon prayer service in the square, Qatar-based Egyptian tele-preacher Youssef Qaradawi congratulated Egypt’s youth who “knew the revolution will win in the end”. He warned however that “the revolution is not over until we have a new Egypt”.
The revolution, he added, had triumphed over sectarianism. “Here in Tahrir, the Christian and the Muslim stood side by side.”
He called on the army to remove the cabinet formed by Mubarak before he was ousted.
Banned until now due to his close links to the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Qaradawi demanded the release of political prisoners. He also asked workers striking for better pay and conditions to return to their jobs and be patient with the army, which has been calling for resumption of normal life.
Banks, the stock exchange and many public and private firms have remained closed since demonstrations erupted on January 25th at a cost to the economy of tens of billions of Egyptian pounds, particularly in the key tourism sector.
The January 25th Youth Coalition, the umbrella grouping connecting the disparate factions which organised the 18-day mass action that brought Mubarak down, intends to use regular Friday demonstrations to sustain pressure on the army chiefs to meet the democracy movement’s demands, including punishment of the men who benefited financially during Mubarak’s reign.
Ahead of yesterday’s gatherings, the public prosecutor detained or ordered investigations into the activities of 14 former cabinet members. Among them are interior minister Hibib Adly, blamed for brutal attacks by internal security forces on demonstrators, and the housing, tourism, culture, trade and industry and finance ministers, who are accused of corruption.
Senior members of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP) and steel magnate Ahmad Ezz have also been detained.
However, the arrests are unlikely to satisfy members of the Youth Coalition or veteran democracy activists who insist on the removal of the entire Mubarak regime, including the caretaker prime minister Ahmad Shafiq, appointed by Mubarak and endorsed by the military. Activists are also insisting on the prompt lifting of restrictions on the formation of political parties and on freedom of the press.
At least 13 parties – ranging from religious to extreme left – are said to be in the process of coalescing but they will not be operational in time for elections unless they are legalised.
A well-connected source frustrated with the failure of the military to meet the demands of the democracy campaign told The Irish Timesthat it was feared the army would try to remain in power with the co-operation of the NDP and the Muslim Brotherhood.
