CAIRO: Late morning and this Cairo middle-class cafe is packed, all eyes on the televisions set up throughout the L-shaped establishment. On screen, newly elected Egyptian members of Parliament are delivering their oaths, inaugurating the first post-uprising Parliament in the country. But, instead of saying the pre-arranged oaths required for the new MP to take office, a number of legislators, both Islamist and liberal, took liberty to add additional information at the end of their oaths. Mamdouh Ismail, member of the hardline Salafist al-Asala Party, added “as long as it does not violate the law of God” at the end of the oath. The session's chair, al-Saqqa, asked him to repeat the oath again without adding anything. However, this did not stop others from repeating Ismail's oath. Another lawmaker vowed to fulfill the revolutionary demands and defend the “blood of the martyrs.” Several members were wearing yellow scarves around their necks with the slogan “No to military trials for civilians,” in a protest against the ruling military council, which tried over 12,000 people in military courts since Mubarak's ouster. First on the agenda Monday morning was electing a Speaker of Parliament. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), with its 47 percent of all seats, is hopeful of installing their chief candidate, Saad al-Katatni, into the position. While it may be formalities in the first session, activists are concerned that the new government has no real power as the military maintains its grip on the country. “We fought for change, but all we have really changed right now is who is the dictator,” said Ahmed, a 27-year-old activist who had joined a group of anti-military protesters in a small demonstration within stones throw of the parliament building early on Monday. They were quickly pushed away by uniformed police, who told them they were not allowed to be in the area. “This is why we need mass protests on Wednesday to keep the pressure and demand the military leave power at once,” Ahmed told Bikyamasr.com. The first session of parliament was inaugurated two days before the one-year anniversary of the January 25 uprising's first day. Activists have been voiceful in calling for large numbers of citizens to descend on central Cairo's Tahrir Square to demand that the military leave power immediately and to continue the revolution, which they argue has been hijacked by the conservative Islamic groups, including the FJP and the ultra-conservative al-Nour Party. “We are watching the new parliament, but it is made up of people who were not part of the revolution and continued to campaign even as people were being killed by the military and police. How can we trust them,” added Ahmed. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/grf2G Tags: Elections, featured, Islamists, Liberals, Parliament Section: Egypt, Latest News
