Egyptians rally ahead of general strikes

Fri Feb 10, 2012

Protesters have marched to the Egyptian Defense Ministry in yet another demonstration against the continued rule of the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF).

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Friday in front of the ministry building in Cairo to demand an immediate transfer of power from the de facto military rulers to a civilian government.

"Down with military rule," the protesters chanted at the Fateh mosque in central Cairo, at the end of the Friday Prayers before leaving for the ministry.

The demonstration came on the eve of a planned civil disobedience campaign to mark the ouster of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak's last year.

On Friday, the activists held rallies in the capital, which all converged outside the defense ministry before they embark on strikes and sit-ins on Saturday.

The leading youth group in Egypt said the plan was for a one-day strike, but that it could be extended.

The SCAF, which seized control after the ouster of Mubarak’s regime last February, has failed to meet a deadline it has announced to hand over power after a president is elected later this year.

The council has threatened to deploy troops across the country in response to the activists’ call for the civil disobedience campaign.

In a joint statement on Friday, students groups called on Egyptians "to support these strikes in order to end the unjust rule and build a nation in which justice, freedom and dignity prevail."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/226000.html.