Egyptians in fear of army's 'new Mubaraks'

The soldiers shouted, "Raise your head high, you're Egyptian". They barked it over and over, as Ramy Issam lay belly down on the ground, stripped to his boxers, his hands and right leg tied behind his back. Each time the activist obeyed, he said, a soldier would stamp his head back onto the marble of the courtyard in Cairo's Egyptian Museum.

Reports said yesterday that prime minister Essam Sharaf had accepted the resignation of his finance and trade ministers and named at least four new cabinet members as part of a reshuffle. But for a growing number of Egyptians, the secretive council of top generals that rules the country now looks too like the regime it replaced - authoritarian, ready to use brutal tactics and out of touch with the country's aspirations.

The military was greeted with cheers when it pushed out longtime president Hosni Mubarak in February. It has proclaimed its embrace of the revolution and democratic elections later this year. However, protesters have returned to Tahrir Square, holding a sit-in since 8 July, to complain that the military has hijacked the transition and has been reluctant to purge members of the old regime.

Reported abuses have added to their complaints, with accusations of torture of detainees. In five months, more than 10,000 civilians have been put on trial in military courts, notorious for swift rulings with little chance of defence.

"The revolution has been stolen by the military council," said Mr Issam, the long-haired "Singer of the Revolution" known for rousing the crowd in Tahrir Square with political tunes on his Spanish guitar. "We made the revolution and we gave it to the military council on a silver platter. But everyone must know that we have learned how to say 'No."'

Mr Issam seemed close to tears as he visited the Egyptian Museum for the first time since his detention in March. He and dozens of others were dragged there from Tahrir Square, he said, beaten by wooden sticks and iron rods and given electric shocks. His hair was cut off with broken glass. Amid the beatings, he recalled the warning shouted at him by one of the officers: "We will make you know who are the real masters of this country".

The irony of Egypt's revolution was that it put one of the pillars of Mr Mubarak's regime in charge of dismantling it. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is made up of generals in their 60s to 80s, all appointed by Mr Mubarak. It says it is committed to change but has rarely changed its plan or moved against former regime figures without the pressure of street demonstrations.

In response to the new protest camp in Tahrir, council member Major General Mohsen el-Fangari went on state television to repeat vows to hand over power after elections. But he also sternly warned that the military would not put up with "deviations" by protesters that "harm the nation's interests."As he spoke, he wagged his finger at the camera. The scolding brought open ridicule. Newspaper cartoons depicted parents using the general's speech to frighten naughty children.

Few believe that the council, led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, wants to directly rule beyond the election. But protesters suspect it aims to keep as much as the old regime in place as it can. Since the 1952 army coup that toppled the monarchy, four presidents of a country of 80 million have come from the military.

After Mr Mubarak's fall, the military council called itself the "protector" of the revolution, capitalising on its decision not to fire on protesters during the 18-day uprising. But as politicians debate what the status of the military should be in the new Egypt, activists warn it is not necessarily a force for democracy.