Egypt braces for mass protests as army holds back
Egyptians plan mass marches on Tuesday in their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak, reassured by the all-powerfularmy, which has said their demands are legitimate and that it will not fire on them. As Mubarak announced a new cabinet that saw the demise of a widely feared interior minister, and the newly appointed vice president offered talks with the opposition, protesters pushed ahead with a singular goal of forcing the president from office. They announced an indefinite general strike and called for a "march of a million" in the capital on Tuesday, the eighth day of an uprising that has claimed at least 125 lives in clashes between demonstrators and police. Another million-strong march was planned in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, as national train services were cancelled in an apparent bid to stymie protests. The new demonstrations will come as the hated police have returned to the street after a mysterious two-day absence that protesters said was a ploy to sow a sense of insecurity. But while it remains unknown what posture police will adopt in the face of the strike and marches, the army stated clearly that it would not confront the demonstrators. "To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people," stress that "they have not and will not use force against the Egyptian people," the military said in a statement. Tens of thousands of protesters had carpeted Cairo's Tahrir (Liberation) Square, the epicentre of demands for an end to the corruption, deprivation and police oppression indelibly associated with Mubarak's 30-year rule. "We will stay in the square, until the coward leaves," the crowd chanted...
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments