Thousands call for civilian rule in Egypt

Thousands of Egyptian protesters chant anti-military slogans in Cairo's Liberation Square on July 29, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191387.html

Thousands of Egyptians have once again taken to Cairo's landmark Liberation Square to demand the formation of a civilian government.

Over a dozen opposition groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, have attended the rally dubbed "Friday of Unity and Popular Demand," a Press TV correspondent reported.

Protesters gathered in the square after the Friday Prayers to urge pressing ahead with social reforms.

The protesters are calling for swift change and the ouster of military rulers who have replaced the former President Hosni Mubarak.

Many protesters say they want an Islamic state to replace the military-led transitional government.

One of their key demands is the swift trial of former regime members involved in the killing of protesters during the revolution.

"We essentially came here to achieve the demands that all are agreed on, especially trying the criminal figures. It [has been] six months and there are promises but nothing achieved, we have got bored of this. I can only see promises made thirty years ago which have not been implemented," Reuters quoted a political activist at Cairo's Liberation Square as saying.

Many are also complaining that more and more civilians, a great number of whom were protesters detained during anti-government demonstrations in February that toppled Mubarak, are being tried in military courts while members of Mubarak's regime have not yet faced justice.

Some of the protesters are chanting slogans against the Ministry of Interior and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Others are calling on the de facto president and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi to step down.

Following Mubarak's downfall, a military council took over in Egypt. Many Egyptians believe it is trying to derail the revolution.

Demonstrators call for an end to the military council's rule and want the military to go back to their barracks and hand over power to a civilian government.