Military calls for end to labor strikes in Egypt ; Last of protesters invited to disperse as generals consolidate their control

ANTHONY SHADID
International Herald Tribune
02-15-2011
Military calls for end to labor strikes in Egypt ; Last of protesters invited to disperse as generals consolidate their control
Byline: ANTHONY SHADID
Type: News

In its clearest elaboration since taking power Friday of its plans for Egypt, the military said it would put consitutional changes to a referendum and rule until elections are held within the next six months.

The Egyptian military moved to clear the last protesters from Tahrir Square on Monday as the armed forces consolidated their control over what they have called a democratic transition from nearly three decades of authoritarian rule by President Hosni Mubarak.
A day after the military dissolved Parliament, suspended the Constitution and called for elections in six months in sweeping steps that echoed the demands of protesters, red-bereted military police officers urged the final few protesters in the square to leave. The huge plaza in central Cairo had become the epicenter of 18 days of protest that ended Mr. Mubarak's rule on Friday, with hundreds of thousands of people gathering to call for his departure.

But even as the police moved to vacate the square, leaving only a handful of bystanders and people cleaning the streets after the weeks of protest, the governing military council issued a communique urging labor leaders to end the strikes that have broken out in the aftermath of the revolution.

The statement, read on state TV, seemed aimed not just at strikes against private industry but also at a fresh wave of smaller demonstrations by state employees, including ambulance drivers, police officers and transport workers, demanding better pay and working conditions. Several hundred police officers demonstrated in the square -- not, as at the beginning of the revolt, to suppress protest, but to seek better working conditions and public sympathy.

The military leaders now governing Egypt have told a coalition of young revolutionaries that they plan to convene a panel of distinguished jurists to submit a package of constitutional amendments within 10 days for approval in a national referendum within two months, setting a breakneck schedule for the transition to civilian rule.

Just as dramatic a sign of how radically Egypt is changing was the way the army and the protesters disclosed their plans. Two top generals sat down Sunday night to talk about their country's future with seven of the revolution's young organizers -- including the Google marketing executive Wael Ghonim -- and the young organizers posted their notes on the meeting directly to the Internet for the Egyptian public to see.

How completely the military will deliver on its promises of a transition to a constitutional democracy will not be clear until the election. But the young revolutionaries -- most in their early 30s - - were clearly impressed by the deference they received from the military officials, Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Hijazi and Maj. Gen. Abdel Fattah.

"We all sensed a sincere desire to preserve the gains of the revolution and unprecedented respect for the right of young people to express their views," two of the young organizers, Mr. Ghonim and Amr Salama, wrote in their Facebook posting, with the disclaimer that they were speaking only for themselves.

Since seizing power on Friday, the military has struck a reassuring note, responding in words and actions to the platform articulated by hundreds of thousands in Tahrir Square. But beyond more protests, there is almost no check on the sweep of military rule. While opposition leaders in Egypt welcomed the military's moves, some have quietly raised worries about the future role of an institution that has been a pillar of the status quo, playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in preserving its vast business interests and political capital.

"Over the next six months, I am afraid the army will brainwash the people to think that the military is the best option," said Dina Aboul Seoud, a 35-year-old protester, still in the square on Sunday. "Now, I am afraid of what is going to happen next."

The prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad, dissolved his cabinet on Monday and was immediately reappointed by the president to form a new one, Isabel Kershner reported from Jerusalem. The move was the latest in a series of political steps taken by the authority after the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Ghassan Khatib, the spokesman for the West Bank-based Palestinian government, said that there had been plans for a cabinet reshuffle for months, regardless of the recent turmoil in the region, but that the process had "taken longer than expected."

Copyright International Herald Tribune Feb 15, 2011