CAIRO: Activists in Egypt are preparing for a million man march in Tahrir Square tomorrow, September 30, aimed at pressuring the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) to oblige the demands of Egypt's political parties. Protesters are set to demand an end to emergency rule in Egypt. They will also demand amended election procedures, a clear timeframe for the SCAF to transition to civilian rule, and a repeal to laws that criminalize sit-ins and strikes. Some say that activists are trying to return to the tactics of the protests that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak last February. Three marches will set off from Tahrir Square on Friday after the noon prayer. Those planning the protest hope that it will be the largest demonstration since February. Over 60 of Egypt's political groups set an October 1 deadline for authorities to oblige their political demands. They have all pledged to boycott elections if their demands are not met. “We are returning to civil resistance as we see Mubarak's regime still in place,” said Mahmoud Afify, a spokesman for the April 6 Movement, told Reuters. Though the military council has portrayed itself as the protector of the revolution, they have faced increased criticism and pressure to transition to civilian rule. Activists were outraged by the military council's decision to maintain emergency law rule until June of 2012, keeping in line with a timeline set by the Mubarak regime. The 30-year old emergency law was set to end before elections. An end to the emergency law was one of the main demands of the protesters who ousted Mubarak last February. This week, authorities in Washington reiterated Egyptian activists' call to scrap the emergency law, which is widely seen as a tool of repression. “We hope to see the law lifted sooner than that because we think that is an important step on the way to the rule of law and to the kind of system of checks and balances that are important in protecting the rights of the Egyptian people,” US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said in Washington on Wednesday. Amnesty International called the law a “serious erosion of human rights,” and implored authorities to deactivate it. Activists have also called for amended election laws, and are pushing for a system of party-based proportional lists. They believe that the existing system, a mix between a party list vote and an individual candidacy vote, is vulnerable to corruption and vote buying. Some fear that this system would allow Mubarak loyalists to rise to power once more. Egypt's benchmark stock index ended at a 29-month low on Wednesday because of anxiety over Friday's protests. A need for stability in Egypt has many concerned, as the economy suffers from losses in tourism revenues and foreign investment. BM
