Protesters feel time ripe to launch second uprising
They accuse the military of not doing much and dragging their feet on punishing Mubarak and his aides
Cairo: In sharp contrast to their unison during a revolt that swept long-standing president from power, Egypt's protesters and the military are at odds what shape the first anniversary of the uprising should take. Increasingly sceptical about the military junta's agenda, several protest groups see the anniversary a fresh occasion to "launch a second revolution".
In an apparent bid to defuse tensions with its opponents, the ruling military council has declared January 25 a national holiday and unveiled plans for three-day colourful celebrations of the event. "How can the occasion be a cause for celebration when the goals of the revolution have not been accomplished yet?" said Mahmoud Afifi, the spokesman for the April 6 movement. "Retribution for the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for Egyptians' freedom, has not been fulfilled yet," he added.
The protesters accuse the military of dragging their feet on punishing Mubarak and his aides allegedly involved in killing more than 800 people during the revolt. Moreover, detractors accuse the military itself of being involved in brutally killing at least 90 protesters and referring around 12,000 civilians to military courts since Mubarak's removal. Protest groups have vowed to hold mass protests against the military in Egypt's public squares on January 25. The rallying call was also made on the social networking site Facebook, a main medium in the anti-Mubarak protests. For the Islamists, who have secured big gains in recent parliamentary elections, the first anniversary of the anti-Mubarak revolution should not be "marred" by demonstrations against the military.
