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Egypt protesters call for mass demo on eve of poll

26 November 2011 19:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Egyptian activists called on Saturday for a million-person march on the eve of landmark polls as Egypt’s military leader reached out to key opposition figures amid a deepening political rift, APA reports quoting news.yahoo.com website.

The Revolution Youth Coalition, formed during the uprising that drove Hosni Mubarak from power in February, called on its Facebook page for mass protests in Tahrir Square and across Egypt on Sunday to demand the end of military rule.

Earlier, a 19-year-old demonstrator was killed after a protest outside the cabinet headquarters against military leader Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi’s appointment on Friday of Kamal al-Ganzuri as the country’s new prime minister.

Among the demands of the activist alliance is the replacement of Ganzuri and the cabinet he has been tasked with forming by a national salvation government and the immediate trial of all those involved in killing demonstrators.

At least 42 people have now died in a week of clashes between protesters and police that erupted on November 19 and which have also left more than 3,000 injured.

Tantawi held separate talks on Saturday with presidential hopefuls Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, and ex-Arab League chief Amr Mussa, state media reported, as protesters demanding an end to military rule remained camped out in Tahrir Square.

A political source told AFP that the meetings discussed the formation of an advisory panel to the military council.

ElBaradei’s office said no agreement had been discussed during the meeting on "the next phase" of the revolution, but added that he was "continuing negotiations to achieve the demands of the revolutionaries."

He and Mussa were among those proposed by protesters as members of a national salvation government.

The teenage demonstrator was killed following the protest against the naming of Ganzuri, who served as premier under Mubarak. He was hit by a police truck that witnesses said had charged into demonstrators.

An interior ministry statement confirmed the death of Ahmed Surur and expressed its "deepest sorrow and apologies," but said its forces had not been sent to clear protesters.

In nearby Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the nationwide protests that toppled Mubarak and where thousands spent Friday night, protesters appeared to be settling in for the long haul.

Ganzuri has tried to assure Egyptians that the military has given him more powers than past premiers, in a bid to placate protesters who accuse the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) of trying to retain control.

And ahead of the start of polling on Monday, the premier-designate said he would formalise his government "before the end of next week" and allocate some portfolios to younger people.

But the mostly young protesters in the square quickly rejected his appointment.

"We do not want someone who has been selected by the military council, we want a civilian who was with us in Tahrir during the revolution, someone who has the confidence of the people," said one, Omar Abdel Mansur.

Hundreds of demonstrators in the square branched off to the nearby cabinet offices on Friday to block Ganzuri from entering the building, chanting "revolution" and "Ganzuri is a former regime leftover."

They were bolstered by an announcement that the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s highest authority, had thrown his weight behind them.

"The grand imam (Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb) backs you and is praying for your victory," senior aide Hassan Shafie told them during a visit to the square, focus of huge protests first against Mubarak and now the army.

ElBaradei also joined protesters in the square on Friday.

But the Tahrir protest was countered by a rival demonstration in a square about three kilometres (two miles) away, where more than 10,000 people gathered to show support for the military, chanting "Down with Tahrir."

The rallies came ahead of the first parliamentary elections since Mubarak’s ouster left the military in charge.

The SCAF led by Tantawi has said repeatedly it does not have political ambitions and plans to hand power to an elected civilian authority after presidential elections set for no later than the end of June 2012.

But it has also insisted it will not bow to pressure from the Tahrir protesters, saying they do not represent the whole country.

Washington, a close ally of Egypt, has called for a quick transfer to civilian rule. And UN chief Ban Ki-moon renewed calls for the military to ensure a "peaceful transition" after telephone talks with Tantawi.