I think they also beat protesters on Friday as well.
Seems the road to justice is long and winding.
No doubt if elected~ once the Muslim Brotherhood get a taste of African leadership ~ they'll use the same tactics against the Egyptian people. There is no Islam ~ there is only man.
CAIRO—Egyptian military police beat protesters Saturday to clear them from outside the Cabinet office where they were trying to camp overnight to press demands for sweeping political reforms and the dismissal of remnants of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's regime.
The clash signaled a tougher line from Egypt's military rulers, who had avoided violently confronting antigovernment protesters in the streets while promising to meet their demands for democratic reform and return the country to civilian rule. The protest movement, however, is growing impatient, and tens of thousands rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square throughout the day on Friday to keep up the pressure and, in particular, to demand the dismissal of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, who was appointed by Mr. Mubarak.
About 150 protesters tried to spend the night outside the Cabinet office near Tahrir Square.
After midnight, when the nightly curfew goes into effect, military police moved in and beat protesters, some of whom tried to resist, according to Shady Ghazali, a leading youth activist who said he witnessed the clash.
"One man was slapped so hard he bled from his face," Mr. Ghazali said.
He and at least four others were detained and taken to a lockup that already held dozens of other protesters who were apparently arrested throughout the day, he said. Some of them showed bruises and other signs of mistreatment, he said. "The military police is behaving like the state security," Mr. Ghazali said, referring to the internal security force that Mr. Mubarak's regime used to crack down on dissent and which was accused of torture.
Two weeks after Mr. Mubarak's Feb. 11 ouster, protesters are pressing the military to speed up reforms and purge the caretaker government of officials appointed by Mr. Mubarak. The Egyptian military took over, but assigned government affairs to a caretaker Cabinet until elections can be held.
Demonstrators also seek the repeal of emergency laws and the release of political prisoners.
Protesters said they will stage large rallies every Friday until their demands are met, but some are skeptical of the military's resolve to fulfill all demands, noting that it benefited from the old regime.
Since Mr. Mubarak's fall, the military rulers have disbanded both houses of parliament and promised constitutional reforms that will allow wider participation in elections, to be held within six months. They have also promised to repeal emergency laws that give security forces largely unchecked powers, though only when conditions permit a caveat that has protesters worried. The military authorities have moved against members of Mr. Mubarak's regime, arresting a number of former ministers and prominent businessmen on corruption allegations.
Some two dozen ex-ministers and business leaders are under investigation. Protesters have often mentioned corruption as a motive behind their movement.
WSJ
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment