WATANI International
27 November 2011
In a televised statement last Tuesday, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi announced that he accepted the Cabinet’s resignation and that a new government with a proper mandate will be soon formed. Presidential elections, he said, will take place no later than June 2012 instead of the originally scheduled 2013.
Tantawi also said that parliamentary elections, slated to begin 28 November, will be held as scheduled.
He maintained that SCAF has no intention to remain in power and has Egypt’s best interest at heart, lamenting the country’s depleted reserves and deteriorating economy, saying Egypt had lost several investment opportunities which it direly needed.
Tantawi claimed the Military Council would be willing to relinquish power through a public referendum, if necessary.
Only minutes before he gave his speech, the Cabinet announced on its Facebook page that central security forces will be pulled from the Tahrir area.
Before a civilian court
Another statement published on SCAF’s Facebook page also minutes before the speech, said that the SCAF had decided to refer the Maspero case to the public prosecutor.
The case involves 28 Coptic detainees who had been caught during the attack by the army and security forces against a peaceful Coptic protest in Maspero, Cairo, on 9 October. The demonstration had been held to protest the burning of a church in Merinab, Aswan, at the hands of hardline Islamists, and had been brutally crushed by the military and security forces. Twenty three Copts and one Muslim died, and more than 300 were injured.
The 28 detainees were caught from among the Coptic protestors and injured, and were charged with, among other things, damaging military equipment. Since the charge involves acts against the military, the case was investigated by a military commission, and was to be seen before a military court, but the recent SCAF decision brings the case before a civilian court instead. The decision also applies to those who have been caught and detained on 19 and 20 November in Tahrir Square.
Political party representatives had attended crisis talks with SCAF earlier on Tuesday and said that a national salvation government is in the process of being formed, as pressure mounted for a swifter transfer of power.
Replay
Tantawi’s speech, however, did not satisfy demands by the demonstrators in Tahrir Square who call for the army council to cede power. Chants of “leave, leave” intensified in the packed square.
Most Facebook bloggers rejected Tantawi’s address to the nation judging it as too little too late. They denounced his suggested referendum with: “How do you expect us to participate in a referendum after your soldiers killed us?” Others posted remarks to the effect that the referendum was sure to be a mock since Tantawi would in all probability score a majority vote.
Many compared Tantawi’s address in tone and content to Mubarak’s first speech during the first revolution back in January. “Whoever missed the first Revolution—meaning the 25 January Revolution—may now follow up on the replay.” Obviously, the speech lacked in credibility; the majority of bloggers were supportive of the Tahrir demonstrators, urging to join them until Tantawi cedes power.
Tantawi came under fire for his claim that: “the military did not fire a single shot at any Egyptian.” “So how do you see the crushing of the Copts under your armoured vehicles in Maspero on 9 October? ” a blogger aptly asked.
Reported by Donia Wagdy and Dalia Victor