The swift transition from Egypt’s military to elected officials is proving to be a violent one.
STORY: Egyptians Pound Tahrir Square
Security forces fired tear gas and clashed Monday with several thousand protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in the third straight day of violence that has killed at least 24 people.
For three straight days, young demonstrators have been demanding that the military hand over power to a civilian government.
According to the Associated Press:
The eruption of violence, which began Saturday, reflects the frustration and confusion that has mired Egypt’s revolution since Mubarak fell in February and the military stepped in to take power.
It comes only a week before Egypt is to begin the first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections, which many have hoped would be a significant landmark in a transition to democracy.
Instead, the vote has been overshadowed by mounting anger at the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which will continue to hold power as head of state even after the vote. Activists accuse the generals of acting increasingly in the same autocratic way as Mubarak’s regime and fear that they will dominate the coming government just as they have the current interim one they appointed months ago.
The military says it will only hand over power after presidential elections, which it has vaguely said will be held in late 2012 or early 2013. The protesters are demanding an immediate move to civilian rule.
Cairo’s Tahri’s square was the epicenter of the protest movement that ousted President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. We hope the transition doesn’t turn any uglier than it has already become.
Things have gooten more violent as the newspaper Al Masry Al Youm uploaded a video that appears to show Egyptian security forces ruthlessly beating protesters, dragging them by their hair.
SOURCE: AP
