Egypt protesters vow to stay in Tahrir Square till demands met

2011-07-11

Stocks fall nearly three percent as heightened tensions raised fears unrest will spread across Egypt.

CAIRO - Protesters prepared to spend their fourth night in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday, as stocks fell nearly three percent on fears of widespread unrest.

Pro-democracy activists have been camping out in Cairo, Alexandria and the canal city of Suez since mass nationwide rallies on Friday calling for political change.

"We're not going anywhere until our demands are met," said Ahmed al-Sayyed, a protester in Tahrir Square where traffic has been blocked since Friday.

The Mugamma, a huge government complex housing Egypt's sprawling bureaucracy, was blocked to employees for a second day running.

In Alexandria, hundreds vowed not to budge from their sit-in in Qayed Ibrahim Square, and hundreds more packed into Al-Arbaeen Square in the canal city of Suez.

Friday's protest and the ensuing sit-ins have been one of the biggest challenges to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took power when a popular uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February.

On Monday, Egypt stocks fell as heightened tensions raised fears the unrest would spread.

The main EGX-30 index closed down 2.93 percent at 5,116.21 points. On Sunday it had closed down 1.67 percent.

"There has been a big wave of selling by foreign investors... influenced by the sit-ins and demonstrations in the main squares of Cairo, Alexandria and Suez," said financial analyst Marwa Abu Ouf.

Among protesters' key demands are an end to military trials of civilians, the dismissal and prosecution of police officers accused of murder and torture -- before and after the revolution -- and open trials of former regime officials.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf pledged to sack all police officers accused of killing protesters, as part of a series of measures aimed at placating protesters.

But his government has been criticized as weak in the face of the ruling military council, which is headed by Mubarak's longtime defense minister Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=47147.