CAIRO: Egypt is beginning its first working day since a popular uprising forced authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak to step down Friday and hand power to the military. Shops and businesses were expected to reopen Sunday as many Egyptians try to return to normal following two days of celebrations of Mr. Mubarak's ouster and 18 days of anti-government protests that preceded it.
Celebrations in central Cairo continued throughout Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday, with Egyptians filling Tahrir Square and surrounding streets, where they danced to loud music and enjoyed a performance by a live band.
Many Cairo residents also spent Saturday cleaning up the square, while pro-democracy protesters largely retained the tent city they had set up to accommodate huge anti-Mubarak rallies during the uprising.
A coalition of youth groups that organized the protests kept up the pressure for a transition to democracy by issuing a list of demands to Egypt's new military rulers. The coalition called for the dissolution of the ruling party-dominated parliament and the lifting of a deeply unpopular emergency law installed by Mr. Mubarak when he took office in 1981.
The Egyptian military's Supreme Council said Saturday it remains committed to a transition in which a civilian authority will build a "democratic nation." It also said a reshuffled Cabinet appointed by Mr. Mubarak after the protests erupted on January 25 will remain in place until a new government is formed.
The military also vowed to "remain committed" to all of Egypt's regional and international treaties and other agreements, a pledge welcomed by Israel, which had been concerned about the fate of its 1979 peace treaty with Cairo. That agreement was the first between an Arab nation and the Jewish state.
U.S. President Barack Obama also welcomed the military's pledges Saturday, during telephone conversations with his counterparts in Britain, Jordan and Turkey.
Celebrations in central Cairo continued throughout Saturday and into the early hours of Sunday, with Egyptians filling Tahrir Square and surrounding streets, where they danced to loud music and enjoyed a performance by a live band.
Many Cairo residents also spent Saturday cleaning up the square, while pro-democracy protesters largely retained the tent city they had set up to accommodate huge anti-Mubarak rallies during the uprising.
A coalition of youth groups that organized the protests kept up the pressure for a transition to democracy by issuing a list of demands to Egypt's new military rulers. The coalition called for the dissolution of the ruling party-dominated parliament and the lifting of a deeply unpopular emergency law installed by Mr. Mubarak when he took office in 1981.
The Egyptian military's Supreme Council said Saturday it remains committed to a transition in which a civilian authority will build a "democratic nation." It also said a reshuffled Cabinet appointed by Mr. Mubarak after the protests erupted on January 25 will remain in place until a new government is formed.
The military also vowed to "remain committed" to all of Egypt's regional and international treaties and other agreements, a pledge welcomed by Israel, which had been concerned about the fate of its 1979 peace treaty with Cairo. That agreement was the first between an Arab nation and the Jewish state.
U.S. President Barack Obama also welcomed the military's pledges Saturday, during telephone conversations with his counterparts in Britain, Jordan and Turkey.
The White House says Mr. Obama expressed a belief that democracy will "bring more - not less - stability" to the region. It says he also pledged to provide "necessary and requested" financial support and other assistance to Egypt as it moves toward free and fair elections.
Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman announced Mr. Mubarak's resignation Friday evening in a brief televised statement, an abrupt end to the president's nearly 30 years in power. Mr. Mubarak flew out of Cairo earlier Friday to his Red Sea holiday retreat at Sharm el-Sheikh, as the nationwide protests against his rule reached their peak.
Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman announced Mr. Mubarak's resignation Friday evening in a brief televised statement, an abrupt end to the president's nearly 30 years in power. Mr. Mubarak flew out of Cairo earlier Friday to his Red Sea holiday retreat at Sharm el-Sheikh, as the nationwide protests against his rule reached their peak.
No comments:
Post a Comment