Egyptians plan million-man march in Tahrir square on Friday of Regaining Honor

Egyptians plan million-man march in Tahrir square on Friday of Regaining Honor

Newscast Media CAIRO, Egypt — After the latest round of violence against protesters, Egyptians are calling for a million-man march on Friday Dec. 23 to protest military rule. Nineteen different political and cultural movements released a statement on Monday urging all factions to set aside their political differences and rally under the single slogan, "Down with military rule."

According to Ahram Online, the statement stressed that the aim of the proposed Friday demonstration was to "regain the nation's honor," which had been tarnished by the military following the February departure of longstanding president Hosni Mubarak.

The statement emphasised the important role women played in the January 25 Revolution, adding that in return women's rights have been ignored since the revolution and undermined by the military council and Islamist parties.

The statement called for mass demonstrations to condemn "the brutal crime committed against Egypt's most noble women" adding that the revolution, which held to the slogan "Hold your head up high, you are Egyptian," will no longer accept that an Egyptian woman or man is insulted.

Meanwhile, Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that in a televised news conference, General Adel Emara, member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), offered the generals' version of the violence that erupted on Friday in downtown Cairo, which left at least 11 killed and more than 500 injured. He denied reports of the military using "excessive force" against protesters, accusing the media of falsifying reports.

"The armed forces does not use violence systematically," said Emara. "We exercise a level of self-restraint that others envy. We do not do that out of weakness but out of concern for national interests."

"What hurts me as a citizen and not as as a SCAF member is the scene of a young man making the victory sign after the building of the Roads and Bridges Authority was set ablaze, as if he had defeated an enemy. On the other side of the road, a solider of the same age was sacrificing his life for the the country's sake," said Emara.

As he was entertaining questions, Emara interrupted a reporter to announce that he had received information about a potential plot to set the building of the People’s Assembly on fire today.

According to activists and eyewitnesses, military personnel picked a fight with protesters with the intention of dispersing the sit-in, whose main demands were the firing of newly appointed Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri and the transfer of power from the military to civilians.

Groups of young activists have already proposed that the presidential poll be held on January 25, the first anniversary of Egypt's revolution, and that a civilian president be sworn in on February 11, the same day Hosni Mubarak stepped down last year. Other pundits suggested a different path, in which the military would cede power to the speaker of the People's Assembly as soon as the People's Assembly polls conclude on January 13. Add Comments>>

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