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Junta tells Egyptians to stop protests

16 February 2011 05:05 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The military junta currently ruling Egypt says that the continuation of nationwide strikes and protests would be disastrous, but the people are still pressing for their demands to be met, APA reports quoting Press TV.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which assumed power after former president Hosni Mubarak stepped down on Friday, asked public sector employees and policemen to end their walkouts and protest rallies and promised to fulfill the â€œaspirationsâ€ of the people, AFP reported.

Hundreds of current and retired police officers held a rally in front of the Interior Ministry in central Cairo on Tuesday, complaining about the injustice of the ousted government.

Thousands of Egyptian union members and other workers are also staging strikes across the country over low pay and corruption.

The junta has given a panel of experts ten days to revise the constitution to â€œguarantee democracy and the integrity of presidential and parliamentary elections."

One of the articles highlighted is the one giving presidents unlimited terms and the panel has been tasked with amending this obstacle to democracy.

The army suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament on Sunday in an initial effort to appease outraged protesters who toppled Mubarak’s three-decade authoritarian regime after 18 days of demonstrations.

Since the initial victory of the popular revolution last week, protesters have been demanding that the military hand over power to a civilian government as soon as possible, saying rallies will continue until they see reforms.

Human rights groups say hundreds of protesters went missing during the recent demonstrations and their whereabouts are still unknown.