CAIRO - The Egyptian military, for the first time
publicly laying out the terms of its rule, said
Sunday that it had dissolved the country's
parliament, suspended its constitution and called
for elections in six months, according to a
statement by the Supreme Council of the Armed
Forces read on state television.
The announcement went a long way toward
meeting the demands of protests, who distrusted
both houses of parliament after elections in the fall
that were widely considered corrupted.
The announcement came only minutes after the
prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, made his own
appearance on state television and said the
country's economy was "stable" and that the
primary focus of the new caretaker government
would be "to bring security back to the Egyptian
citizen."
It was unclear whether the two statements were
meant to compliment each other. The military did
reiterate though that the civilian cabinet would
remain in place over the next six months.
In Cairo's central Tahrir Square, cars began circling
the roundabout for the first time in over two
weeks as Egyptians and tourists flocked around
pictures of dead protesters that hung from
clotheslines at one end of the square.
The police, civilians and soldiers with guns slung
over their shoulders effected a form of impromptu
crowd control, forming human chains to keep the
crowds from spilling into traffic.
Nearby, about 500 police officers joined protesters
at the Interior Ministry and shouted for better
wages.
Even as pockets of protests continued, a measure
of normalcy returned to the capital as Egyptians
awaited word from the new military-led
government on its impending negotiations with
opposition groups.
Just two days after Hosni Mubarak relinquished his
post as president and withdrew to the resort of
Sharm el Sheikh, the form of the military council
to which he had ceded power began to take
shape. The military statement confirmed that Field
Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, 75,
considered a loyalist of Mr. Mubarak, was the
council's leader.
The military has sought to reassure Egyptians and
the world that it would shepherd a transition to
civilian rule and honor international commitments
like the peace treaty with Israel. But even though it
had begun acting on the protest movement's
demands, it was still unclear how or when military
leaders would meet directly with protest leaders in
order to start the process of bringing opposition
figures into the government.
Exultant and exhausted opposition leaders claimed
their role in the country's future over the weekend,
pressing the army to lift the country's emergency
law - which suspending the constitution would
seem to do - and release political prisoners. And
they vowed to return to Tahrir Square next week
to celebrate a victory and honor those who had
died in the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni
Mubarak after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.
The impact of Egypt's uprising rippled across the
Arab world as protesters turned out in Algeria,
where the police arrested leading organizers, and
in Yemen, where pro-government forces beat
demonstrators with clubs. The Palestinian
leadership responded by announcing that it
planned to hold presidential and parliamentary
elections by September. And in Tunisia, which
inspired Egypt's uprising, hundreds demonstrated
to cheer Mr. Mubarak's ouster.
Reporting was contributed by David D. Kirkpatrick,
Anthony Shadid, Mona El-Naggar, Dawlat Magdy
and Scott Nelson from Cairo, Thomas Fuller from
Tunis and J. David Goodman from New York.
Source: Http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/02/14/world/middleeast/14egypt.xml
publicly laying out the terms of its rule, said
Sunday that it had dissolved the country's
parliament, suspended its constitution and called
for elections in six months, according to a
statement by the Supreme Council of the Armed
Forces read on state television.
The announcement went a long way toward
meeting the demands of protests, who distrusted
both houses of parliament after elections in the fall
that were widely considered corrupted.
The announcement came only minutes after the
prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, made his own
appearance on state television and said the
country's economy was "stable" and that the
primary focus of the new caretaker government
would be "to bring security back to the Egyptian
citizen."
It was unclear whether the two statements were
meant to compliment each other. The military did
reiterate though that the civilian cabinet would
remain in place over the next six months.
In Cairo's central Tahrir Square, cars began circling
the roundabout for the first time in over two
weeks as Egyptians and tourists flocked around
pictures of dead protesters that hung from
clotheslines at one end of the square.
The police, civilians and soldiers with guns slung
over their shoulders effected a form of impromptu
crowd control, forming human chains to keep the
crowds from spilling into traffic.
Nearby, about 500 police officers joined protesters
at the Interior Ministry and shouted for better
wages.
Even as pockets of protests continued, a measure
of normalcy returned to the capital as Egyptians
awaited word from the new military-led
government on its impending negotiations with
opposition groups.
Just two days after Hosni Mubarak relinquished his
post as president and withdrew to the resort of
Sharm el Sheikh, the form of the military council
to which he had ceded power began to take
shape. The military statement confirmed that Field
Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, 75,
considered a loyalist of Mr. Mubarak, was the
council's leader.
The military has sought to reassure Egyptians and
the world that it would shepherd a transition to
civilian rule and honor international commitments
like the peace treaty with Israel. But even though it
had begun acting on the protest movement's
demands, it was still unclear how or when military
leaders would meet directly with protest leaders in
order to start the process of bringing opposition
figures into the government.
Exultant and exhausted opposition leaders claimed
their role in the country's future over the weekend,
pressing the army to lift the country's emergency
law - which suspending the constitution would
seem to do - and release political prisoners. And
they vowed to return to Tahrir Square next week
to celebrate a victory and honor those who had
died in the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni
Mubarak after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.
The impact of Egypt's uprising rippled across the
Arab world as protesters turned out in Algeria,
where the police arrested leading organizers, and
in Yemen, where pro-government forces beat
demonstrators with clubs. The Palestinian
leadership responded by announcing that it
planned to hold presidential and parliamentary
elections by September. And in Tunisia, which
inspired Egypt's uprising, hundreds demonstrated
to cheer Mr. Mubarak's ouster.
Reporting was contributed by David D. Kirkpatrick,
Anthony Shadid, Mona El-Naggar, Dawlat Magdy
and Scott Nelson from Cairo, Thomas Fuller from
Tunis and J. David Goodman from New York.
Source: Http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/02/14/world/middleeast/14egypt.xml
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