Egyptians protest removal of army oversight rules

ABOUT 50,000 mainly Islamist protesters flocked to Cairo’s Tahrir Square to press Egypt’s military rulers to transfer power to elected civilians after the cabinet launched a move to exempt the army from parliamentary oversight.

The protesters chanted Islamic songs before Friday prayers while others handed out flyers demanding the constitutional proposal be withdrawn and that presidential elections be held no later than April 2012, instead of at year end or in 2013.

“Does the government want to humiliate the people? The people revolted against Mubarak and they will revolt against the constitution they want to impose on us!” a member of an orthodox Islamic Salafi group cried out.

“Down to military rule” and “No to making the army a state above the state” were some of the chants echoing across Tahrir.

A military source said yesterday the army would hand power to a civilian government in 2012, without giving a exact date.

The mass rally recalled the 18-day, largely secular uprising centred in Tahrir that toppled autocratic President Hosni Mubarak on February 11.

A parliamentary election set for November 28 could be disrupted if political parties and the government fail to resolve a row over the proposal that would deny parliamentary oversight of the army, potentially allowing it to defy an elected government.

Over 39 political parties and groups said they would rally “to protect democracy and the transfer of power” after negotiations broke down between Islamist groups and the cabinet.

Deputy prime minister Ali al-Silmi showed a constitutional draft to political groups earlier this month which would give the army exclusive authority over its internal affairs and budget.

Salafi parties and movements who follow strict Islamic teachings were the earliest to galvanise support for the protest, with the Muslim Brotherhood and liberal parties following suit.

Thousands of Salafi protesters arrived in Cairo from different parts of the country, many waving flags and singing the national anthem while youth groups guarded entrances to the square to prevent thugs from slipping through.

“We came by bus from the Nile Delta. We have been called to come and show our refusal of army rule and support of civilian rule,” said Mohamed Ali, of the Salafi Al-Asalah party.