Egypt protesters keep up the pressure

Released on - Friday,18 February , 2011 -12:47

Egyptian activists ratcheted up pressure on the country's new military rulers by calling for a massive march in Cairo on Friday to commemorate the uprising's martyrs and press for the release of detainees.

Several thousand flag waving Egyptians massed in Cairo's Tahrir Square -- the focal point of anti-government demonstrations that brought down strongman Hosni Mubarak-- as crowds were expected to swell after Friday prayers.

Hundreds of military police in red berets were already manning the square on Friday morning and a military band entertained the festive crowd, one week after Mubarak stepped down and handed power to a military junta.

The Coalition of the Revolution Youth, which groups pro-democracy movements that helped launch the revolt, have called for the gathering to "remember the martyrs of freedom and dignity and justice," after at least 365 were killed and 5,500 injured in the protests, according to the health ministry.

The coalition has vowed to keep up the pressure to ensure the rest of its political demands are met, including the "immediate release of all detainees," it said in statement posted on Facebook.

Hundreds of people went missing during the protests, rights groups said, blaming the army which they also accused of torture.

Gamal Eid, a lawyer who heads the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, said: "There are hundreds of detained, but information on their numbers is still not complete ... The army was holding detainees."

On Thursday, Amnesty International called on the Egyptian military to halt the use of torture against detainees, saying it had fresh evidence of abuse.

Both Amnesty and the New York-based Human Rights Watch said they interviewed former detainees who described being tortured by the military.

The coalition of activists is also calling for "a speedy replacement of the current caretaker cabinet by a government of technocrats" that are not seen as corrupt, it said.

Pro-democracy activists are also seeking an investigation into the deaths during the uprising, a lifting of the decades-old emergency law, and support for the pay strikes that have surged around the country.

"We are going today to commemorate the martyrs and in doing so we are awaiting justice," Mohammed Waked, a protest organiser, told AFP.

"If those detained during the protests are not released, let alone the older political prisoners, it would be a bad sign," he said. "It would show the army is not sincere about political reforms."

Activists who are also calling for a complete dismantling of Mubarak's regime welcomed the arrest of reviled former interior minister Habib al-Adly, whose security forces were given wide powers of arrest under the emergency law.

Adly was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of money laundering and ordered held for 15 days.

And prosecutors ordered former tourism minister Zuheir Garana, former housing minister Ahmed al-Maghrabi and businessman Ahmad Ezz also to be held for 15 days "to assist in an investigation," a judicial source said.

Ezz, a steel magnate, was a member of the former ruling National Democratic Party. He was considered to be a mentor of Mubarak's son Gamal, who was long considered a possible successor to his father.

Since Mubarak's fall, Egyptian workers have tested the limits of their new found freedom, staging pay strikes despite calls from the new military regime for them to return to work and warning of "disastrous" consequences should strikes continue.

Workers are calling for the resignation of the leaders of state-controlled trade unions and company board members, who they accuse of corruption, as well as higher wages and better working conditions.

On Thursday, the United States gave Egypt, a key ally in the region, $150 million in crucial economic assistance to help transition towards democracy.

"I am pleased to announce today that we will be reprogramming $150 million for Egypt to put ourselves in a position to support the transition there and assist with their economic recovery," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.