CAIRO:AS HUNDREDS of thousands of pro-democracy activists rallied nationwide yesterday, Egyptian vice-president Oman Suleiman announced that president Hosni Mubarak has appointed a committee to pursue constitutional changes in preparation for a presidential election in September.
“A clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realise a peaceful and organised transfer of power,” Mr Suleiman said.
He declared that a separate committee would be established to monitor implementation of promised reforms in a bid to counter popular mistrust of the regime.
Hafez Abu Seada, president of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, told The Irish Timesthat the decree creating a committee to initiate constitutional reform was "a direct response to our petition" submitted on Monday to the regime.
Mr Abu Seada added that the committee’s members “are excellent choices . . . three are members of our constitutional committee. All are in favour of democracy and human rights”.
The human rights petition demanded the revision of five articles in the constitution. These articles limit candidates eligible to stand for president, permit parliament to expel members who have allegedly “lost credibility” and allow the government to suspend the human rights of anyone accused of terrorism.
Mr Abu Seada said it is time for the establishment of a transi- tional government headed by a “presidential committee” comprised of figures approved by the people, a new constitution and fresh elections for both houses of parliament and for president. Elections should be under a “proportional system to ensure that all Egyptians are represented and there is no threat from [Muslim] fundamentalists,” a main concern of the West.
He dismissed calls from the US and Europe for Mr Mubarak to stay on in order to ensure an orderly transition.
“It is time for the West to show support for the Egyptian people and convince the president that this is enough,” Mr Abu Seada said.
“He can go to for medical treatment to Germany,” where he underwent an operation a year ago.
The regime also announced that Egyptians taking part in protests would not be prosecuted, another key demand of the demonstrators. This assurance coincided with the wild welcome prepared at Cairo’s Tahrir (Liberation) Square for Wael Ghonim, an activist who established one of the internet-connected groups that sparked the mass demonstrations.
Mr Ghonim was arrested on January 27th, two days after the protests began, and held for 12 days incommunicado and blindfolded. Some 90,000 activists joined a Facebook call for him to be appointed their spokesman.
The hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who gathered in the country’s streets and squares yesterday not only maintained the momentum of their protest, which the regime had hoped would lose strength, but also the political initiative. Numbers were swelled in early afternoon by civil servants who had completed their day’s work, a sector of the society on which the government had counted for support.
May, a dedicated Tahrir organiser, said the demonstrations would not cease until Mr Mubarak leaves office.
“The young [people behind the protests] have no ideology and do not belong to a party. The movement has no [traditional] leadership and no funds. It has a field committee that organises field hospitals, cleaning [of the square] and supplies” for those living in the square and attending rallies. She pointed out that many of those behind the movement were graduates of the American University of Cairo.
In an unprecedented move against Mr Mubarak, attorney Ibrahim Yousri announced that a group of lawyers had presented a petition to the prosecutor general calling for an investigation into the huge fortunes of the president’s family with a view to prosecuting and confiscating alleged ill gotten gains.