Egyptians continue to take to the streets, calling for an immediate end to military rule
General Field Marshal Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), appeared on state television last night (Tuesday 22nd ) in an attempt to assure the swelling ranks of protesters that the military had no intention of staying in power for longer than necessary. Tantawi promised that the parliamentary elections scheduled to start on November 28th would be going ahead as planned. Perhaps even more significantly, he also announced that presidential elections will definitely be held before 30th June 2012, the first time SCAF have offered such deadline, but held back from publicising a more detailed time table for the transition of power. “We ask for fair elections. We are doing our job in a very special era”, Tantawi asserted, “We do not care who runs for elections and who is elected President, and yet we are accused of being biased.”
Some political groups, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood, who were initially one of the strongest supporters of the recommencement of protests, have withdrawn their support, as they fear further disruption may lead to the postponement of the forthcoming elections, jeopardising their chances by giving more time for oppositional groups to organise themselves and canvass support.
The Egyptian Health Ministry said 28 people have been killed, and hundreds injured since the protests re-ignited five days ago, however, there have been widespread reports that Egyptian authorities have been manipulating death certificates in an attempt to obscure the true, far higher, death tolls. Doctors and nurses in the make-shift hospitals that have been springing up around Tahrir claim the true figures to be fair higher than officially acknowledged.
Tantawi’s announcement has done little to calm the situation, with protesters continuing to gather, claiming that SCAF’s assurances do not go far enough. The protesters are calling for an immediate transfer of power from the military to a civilian government, and for the army to return to their barracks. Crowds of thousands chanting phrases such as, ‘we are not leaving! He [Tantawi] is leaving!’, and ‘the people want to bring down the field marshal’, have evoked inevitable comparisons with the protests of January 2011 which forced the resignation of Mubarak. The Egyptian people have seen what can be achieved through people-power, and it seems they are increasingly unwilling to accept the dictates of a military who have been governing the country since the January Revolution in the absence of a democratic mandate. A transition to a civilian government and speedy elections seems to be the only way to quell the anger of the people; ammunition and tear gas no longer suffice in crushing the calls for democracy.
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