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Egypt Military Pledges To Speed Up Power Transfer

November 22, 2011
by RFE/RL

Egypt's military rulers have announced that presidential elections will be held by the end of June.

The development comes as tens of thousands of people continued to pack Cairo's central Tahrir Square to demand an end to military rule and the handover of power to civilians.

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, said the military is prepared to hold a referendum on immediately transferring power to a civilian authority if people demand it.

In his televised address, Tantawi also said he had accepted the resignation of the cabinet and that parliamentary elections would go ahead next week.

In recent days, Egypt has been facing its worse political violence since the final days of Hosni Mubarak's regime, prompting the military council to launch crisis talks with several of the country's political forces.

On November 22, police and soldiers were using tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters at the square for a fourth day as the crowd continued to demand that military authorities transfer power to a civilian presidential council.

Authorities now say about 30 people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces across the country since November 19. Most of the deaths have been in Cairo.

Although earlier deaths reportedly were caused by asphyxiation from tear gas or from rubber bullets fired at close range, doctors and human rights activists in Cairo say some people killed during the last 24 hours were struck with live ammunition.

In February, when longtime President Mubarak was ousted by mass demonstrations, the military council that took control said it would transfer its powers to civilians within six months or after parliamentary and presidential elections.

But it now appears that a presidential election will not take place before 2013, leaving the army with sweeping executive powers until then. Many politicians and demonstrators in Tahrir Square want a presidential election by April 2012. Some want the military council to transfer its power now.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood announced that its affiliated Party of Freedom and Justice is participating in the talks, which are aimed at containing deadly violence and unrest that threatens to derail legislative elections scheduled to start next week.

Military Might

The call for a million-man march comes despite the offer on November 21 by the military-appointed cabinet to resign -- a move that was not immediately accepted by the ruling military council. The cabinet will continue to govern until the military council accepts the resignation.

Many demonstrators are angry about efforts by the cabinet to push through constitutional amendments that would enshrine powers for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the ruling military council headed by Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.

The constitutional principles proposed by the army-picked cabinet would shield the army from civilian oversight and give it broad national security powers.

In Tahrir Square, protester Hazem Mahmud said many Egyptians see the government as having little real power of its own. Mahmud said demonstrators want to bring an end to the grip on power held by the military council.

"The most important thing is the resignation of General Marshal Tantawi, [his deputy] Osama Annan, and the all members of the military council," Mahmud told Reuters. "Then, the resignation of the government comes second. That is all we need."

Protester Taymour Salah said demonstrators regretted that they stopped their rallies in February when Mubarak was ousted, a move that left the military council in control of executive power.

Salah also said the November 21 offer by the militarily appointed government to resign did not go far enough to meet protesters' demands that the military hand over control to civilians.

"It was a useless government, General Marshal [Tantawi] should resign," Salah said. "We are tired of this situation. The army is responsible for all of our current problems. We will not leave this place again."

Police also fired tear gas overnight at demonstrators in the city of Alexandria.

International Concern

In a November 22 statement, Amnesty International said the Egyptian military authorities had "completely failed" to protect human rights.

Amnesty International accused the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of using the same kind of oppressive tactics as Mubarak's ousted regime. Amnesty International also said it appears that the aspirations of the Egyptian revolution "have been crushed."

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also expressed concern about the bloodshed, calling for the Egyptian authorities to "guarantee" the protection of human rights and civil liberties.

The violence and unrest comes just days before Egyptians are scheduled to begin voting on November 28 in parliamentary elections -- the first polls since Mubarak was toppled in February. The military council insists that the voting will go forward as scheduled.

based on agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/egypt_military_council_starts_crisis_talks_unrest_continues/24398685.html

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