Some opposition parties called for a planned Friday demonstration to be suspended following Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq's resignation. The coalition of the revolution youth had planned a march that would start in Giza and Abbasseya and head towards Tahrir Square Friday, followed by protests that would continue until the fall of Shafiq's government. Instead, the group will turn tomorrow's protest into a celebration, while continuing to push for the remaining demands of the revolution. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces accepted the resignation of Shafiq's government Thursday. The National Association for Change, headed by Mohamed ElBaradei, the shadow parliament comprised of opposition figures, and the 25 January youth coalition have requested that Friday's demonstration be suspended in recognition of the dismissal of Shafiq's government. "The decision of the Supreme Council is a considerable response to peoples' demands…We hope the new government achieves our aspirations and we hope the Supreme Council meets the rest of demands, including the formation of a presidential council to run the country during the transitional period, the abolition of emergency law, and release of the rest of the political detainees," said the general coordinator of the National Assembly for Change, Abdel-Geliel Mustafa, in a statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm. The youth coalition also plans to cancel a protest scheduled for the following Friday and decide whether it will resume protests after that depending on the performance of the new government. The youth also call on former Transport Minister Essam Sharaf, who the military appointed to replace Shafiq and appoint a new cabinet, to form a technocratic cabinet that satisfies the people's demands. Nasser Abdel Hameid, one of the coalition members, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the youth would collaborate with the new prime minister in the choice of the new cabinet. Protesters in the square, however, are insisting that Shafiq's resignation is not sufficient for them to end their demonstration. They are demanding the removal of other Mubarak regime figures, the release of political prisoners and the prosecution of corruption. The coalition is in the process of forming awareness committees to convince the protesters in Tahrir Square to leave, said.Abdel Hamid, who added that the coalition plans to clear the square by tomorrow. “We want to be flexible and to show that we respond when our demands are met,” says coalition member Abdelrahman Samir, “our role is not only to protest, we also have to build our country,” he adds. Samir says that the appointment of Sharaf came in response to the coalition's recommendation. He says that the youth had promised the armed forces' chief of staff, Sami Anan, to stop protests if Shafiq was replaced with one of the names they suggested, which included Sharaf.
