Egyptians, camping out in central Cairo to push for massive changes, yesterday threatened to take “escalatory measures” if the country’s military rulers fail to respond to their demands.
The protesters have already shut down the Mogama, a mammoth administrative building in Al Tahrir Square where they have been staging a picket for days and are planning to disrupt the subway service, which is used daily by an estimated 2.5 million commuters in the Egyptian capital.
The protesters accused the military council, which took control of the country following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak early this year, of foot dragging on the prosecution of former regime officials.
The military rulers say they cannot interefere with the “independent” judiciary.
“The [ruling] Supreme Council of the armed forces is acting as though no revolution happened in Egypt,” said Sayyed Mustafa in Al Tahrir Square where traffic has been blocked by protesters. “While civilians are swiftly tried before military courts, tainted officials of the Mubarak regime continue to receive pats on their shoulders,” he added.
State institutions
Protesters are pushing for expediting the prosecution of Mubarak, his aides and policemen believed to be involved in killing demonstrators in the popular uprising against his 30-year-old regime earlier this year. They are also demanding the purging of state institutions, mainly the Interior Ministry and official media outlets loyal to Mubarak.
In a televised address late on Saturday, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf promised to sack all police officers involved in the deadly crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
“Dialogue is continuing with revolutionary powers to meet all legitimate demands,” official television quoted Sharaf as saying in Cairo yesterday.
However, many protesters dismissed Sharaf’s promises as half-hearted and failing to live up to their expectations. They say they plan to march today to the headquarters of the cabinet in Cairo on to press for a response to their demands.