Egyptian activists plan more protests against military coup

Egypt’s political forces have called for more protests on Friday against the ruling military’s power grab, as the nation nervously awaits the results of the first post-Mubarak presidential election. Hundreds of people spent the
night in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, with more protests planned for Friday afternoon, the Muslim Brotherhood and secular movements said in statements.

The group, which claimed its candidate Mohamed Morsi had won the divisive election against ex-premier Ahmed Shafiq, has been holding crisis talks with the country’s political forces. It is due to announce “a national project to
defend the revolution,” its political arm the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said in a statement.

Morsi also spoke by telephone with Nobel laureate and reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as with former presidential hopeful Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh ahead of the protests, the FJP said.

The April 6 movement, which helped launch last year’s uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, said it would join the protests to express “its rejection of the constitutional declaration” and “continue to fight for the goals of the
revolution.”

The National Front for Justice and Democracy said in a statement it rejected the constitutional declaration “which constitutes a military coup.”A recent set of measures consolidating the army’s power has infuriated pro-democracy
groups and raised concerns abroad.

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces assumed legislative powers after a court ordered the Islamist-led parliament dissolved and issued decrees giving the army powers of arrest and a broad say in government policy, rendering
the president’s post toothless. Protesters have been in Cairo’s Tahrir Square since the constitutional document was issued on Sunday.

The tension comes as the country waits to find out who will be the next president, after the election commission failed to announce the results on Thursday, saying it needed more time to look into appeals by both candidates. 

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Posted by Hamza Jahangir on Jun 22 2012. Filed under Latest News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry