Cairo: Some 10,000 Egyptian protesters converged on Cairo's downtown Tahrir Square to mark the first anniversary of "Friday of Rage," a key day in the popular uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
On last year's "Friday of Rage," Mubarak's security forces battled protesters who streamed into the square, killing and wounding hundreds.
The day ended with a collapse of Mubarak's much-hated security forces. Millions of Egyptians, fearful of prison breaks and chaos, went out into the streets to protect their houses and neighborhoods.
A year later, Islamists and liberal reformers were divided on the message. The Muslim Brotherhood group, fresh from an overwhelming parliamentary election victory, celebrated the day.
Muslim Brotherhood supporters and others note that the military council, which took over after Mubarak stepped down, has pledged to hand over power to civilian rule after presidential elections by late June.
Polls show a substantial proportion of Egyptians hope for an end to the demonstrations and a return to economic stability, encouraging the return of tourists and investors. Liberals, suspicious that the military council doesn't intend to fully transfer power to civilian rule as it has promised, vowed to continue their protests.
Also, they demands trials for members of military council for deaths of protesters over the past months. They accuse the military rulers of perpetuating Mubarak's authoritarian methods, saying that even though Egypt has held its freest election in decades, Egypt's deeply rooted culture of dictatorship has not changed.
Chants of "down with military council" and calls for retribution for the killing of protesters were heard in the square on Friday.
"We can't celebrate when there's no justice for those killed," a 30-year-old Amr Seyyed said. "The Muslim Brotherhood is talking about justice, but not how or when."
On Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Tahrir Square to mark the first anniversary of the beginning of the uprising. The gathering was peaceful.
