Egyptians wary of military’s vow on transition timetable

EGYPT’S military leader has promised a faster transition to civilian rule, saying in a live TV broadcast last night that presidential elections will be held by the end of June 2012.

But the major concession was immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square who responded with chants of “Leave, leave now”.

Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi vowed landmark parliamentary elections will start on schedule this Monday, the first vote since authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was kicked out in an uprising nine months ago. And he said the military was prepared to hold a referendum on immediately transferring power to a civilian authority if people demand it.

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“Our demands are clear,” said Khaled El-Sayed, a protester from the Youth Revolution Coalition and a candidate in the upcoming election. “We want the military council to step down and hand over authority to a national salvation government with full authority.”

He also demanded that the commander of the military police and the interior minister, who is in charge of the police, be tried for the “horrific crimes” of the past few days, when at least 29 people were killed in clashes, most of them in Cairo.

Four days of clashes and demonstrations around the country have constituted the most sustained challenge so far to nine months of military rule. It plunges the country deeper into a crisis that may only hamper the democratic transition the protesters are fighting for.

In a televised address to the nation, Field Marshal Tantawi did not mention a specific date for transfer of power, although the presidential election has long been considered the final step in the process. The military has previously floated the end of next year or early 2013 as the date for the presidential vote.

“The armed forces, represented by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, has no desire to rule and puts the country’s interests above all. It is ready to hand over responsibility immediately and return to its original duty of defending the country if the people want that and through a public referendum if it is necessary,” he said. In his brief address, Field Marshal Tantawi sought to cast the military as patriots and angrily denounced what he called attempts to taint its reputation. He made no mention of the protests in Tahrir Square.

The square was jammed with a crowd of tens of thousands who rejected his proposals with chants of “erhal,” or leave.

“We are not leaving, he leaves,” chanted the protesters. “The people want to bring down the field marshal,” they shouted in scenes reminiscent of the uprising that removed Mubarak.

A youth group that played a key role in the anti-Mubarak uprising said it would remain in the square until the military handed over power to a civilian presidential council to run the country’s affairs. Beside a representative of the military, the council should include pro-reform leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, said the April 6 group.

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“The military council has failed to manage the transitional period, and the generals’ hands are tainted by the blood of the nation’s youth and have been collaborating with the counter-revolution,” the group said in a statement.

“What does he exactly mean by a referendum?” asked 50-year-old lawyer Hossam Mohsen, who was in the square. “We have already held a referendum by being here in the square. Egypt is right here.”

Field Marshal Tantawi said he has accepted the resignation of prime minister Essam Sharaf’s civilian government. Aboul-Ela Madi and Mohammed Selim el-Awa, two politicians who attended a five-hour crisis meeting with the military earlier yesterday, said the generals wanted to hand over power to a civilian government by 1 July.

They said the military intended to replace Mr Sharaf’s cabinet with a “national salvation” government.

Twelve political party representatives and presidential hopefuls who attended the meeting with the military council.

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