CAIRO: Egyptian activists are not planning to sit still and go home quietly, instead they have called for a million-man march for Friday to continue their protests against military rule of the country. In response to the past four days of violent clashes with police and the military, which left at least 14 people dead and over 700 wounded, a coalition of opposition groups have called for December 23 to be a protest under the banner “down with military rule.” Some 19 activist groups have issued a statement calling on civilians to join them in order to regain “the country's honor.” They argue that since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak, the military rule of the country has “tarnished” the revolution and left the country in shambles. The past few days of military violence against protesters, many activists have continued their demands to oust the military junta from power. They cite repeated violations and the killing of protesters since the armed forces took power on February 12, initially saying they would remain in charge for only 6 months. The mobilization against the military began in earnest on October 9, when the military opened fire on Coptic Christian protesters, killing at least 27 people. The military subsequently denied opening fire and accused unknown gunmen of perpetrating the violence, although no arrests have been made. Making matters worse, bloggers and civilians have been detained and tried in controversial military trials since Mubarak's ousting. Some 12,000 civilians have been jailed by the military, which has sparked a No Military Trials group led by activists, including Mona Seif and Nour Ayman Nour, who have been instrumental in galvanizing activists against the military. Then last month, police attacked a sit-in in Tahrir Square, injuring a number of protesters, which brought out hundreds of thousands to Tahrir. Clashes began on Mohamed Mahmoud street, where police used tear gas indiscriminately against protesters and live ammunition, killing over 70 people, medical sources told Bikyamasr.com. Now, as violence took hold of Cairo over the past few days, activists are fed up, saying they will push forward on the revolution's demands and will not stop until the military is removed from power and tried for human rights violations and the killing of protesters. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Y34GP Tags: featured, Occupy Cabinet, Protests, SCAF Section: Egypt, Latest News
