CAIRO - Egyptian bloggers and activists have called for a new million-man march on Friday in Cairo's Al Tahrir Square, the epicentre of 18-day protests that overthrow long-serving President Hosni Mubarak, against what they called 'unfulfilled demands' of the revolution. As usual, the organisers use the social networking websites Facebook and Twitter to rally protesters, whom they ask to join their march, which calls for Mubarak and his family members to stand trial. "Bringing Mubarak and other corrupt ex-officials to justice is still a neglected demand," a statement released by the January 25 Youth Coalition read. It added that Mubarak and his senior aides should also be put on trial for ordering the killing of around 400 protesters during the 18-day revolution. Among the demands cited by the coalition are the dissolution of the formerly ruling National Democratic Party and removal of media figures associated with the old regime from the State-run outlets. Despite plans for the protest, a national dialogue is due to start today with the attendance from representatives from political parties, public figures as well as some youth activists. "The first session of the national dialogue is expected today in the Cabinet headquarters under the title 'Towards a New Social Decade'," the Cabinet said in a statement yesterday. It added that Deputy Prime Minister Yehia el-Gamal would moderate the national dialogue, whose session would be aired live on Egyptian TV. The national dialogue, which will start tomorrow, was a general demand by different political groups ever since the new Government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf came to power, however, the political parties do not seem happy with the procedures. "I met with the deputy prime minister today in his office," says George Ishaq, one of the founders of Kefaya movement, "and what I understood is that the meetings will be organised according to alphabetical order and that each meeting will be attended by 10 political figures". The National Coalition for Change, headed by former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei, called for parallel sessions of a communal debate in society to discuss the future of the revolution after the recently approved constitutional amendments. "We call for a broad dialogue in public, not behind closed doors, over means to push forward the aims of the revolution," the coalition said in a statement. It added that such a debate should focus on finding a way to separate between religion and State affairs, expressing fears over the manipulation of religion by some groups, in an apparent reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, to press for political gains. The Brotherhood, an Islamist group founded in 1928, was banned but allowed to operate within limits during Mubarak's era. The Brotherhood plans to establish a new party after curbs on political parties were abolished as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which runs the country after Mubarak, said parties with religious backgrounds could work in Egypt.
