Cairo: Hundreds of Egyptians Friday protested across Cairo against the country’s junta and vowed to start a nationwide strike on the first anniversary of long-standing president Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow to press his military successors for a swift handover of power .
The protesters marched from different areas in Cairo and its twin city Giza to the headquarters of the Defence Ministry in the eastern part of the Egyptian capital. Army forces encircled the area with barbed wire and armoured vehicles to prevent the marchers from reaching the site.
“Down with the military rule,” chanted the protesters as they walked through central Cairo heading to the Defence Ministry. They unfurled a large national flag.
The protest was part of a controversial plan by the opposition to compel the military to expedite the transfer of power to a civilian administration. The junta has been ruling Egypt since a popular revolt forced Mubarak to step down last February. The military has pledged to leave power by July.
Dozens of political groups, trade unions and university student unions have called for a general strike across Egypt, starting Saturday, the first anniversary of Mubarak’s ouster.
The organisers have said that the strike will escalate to civil disobedience if their demands, including swift trials for former officials charged with killing protesters, were not met.
Islamists, including the influential Muslim Brotherhood, denounced the call, saying it would incite chaos and add to Egypt’s economic hardships.
The army has deployed large numbers of troops outside vital state institutions and on highways ahead of the planned strike.
Local media quoted military sources as denying the deployment, the biggest since Mubarak’s overthrow, was prompted by the call for the strike. “It is meant to make society feel secure and regain the state’s authority,” said one army source. Egypt has been hit by street turmoil and deadly violence since Mubarak was deposed.
