CAIRO - Young revolutionaries and some political groups have been calling on Egyptians to take to the streets on Friday in a rally dubbed 'Unity and Public Will Friday', urging the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to achieve the revolution's remaining demands. "This Unity Friday aims at unifying all the factions to get them to make their nation's interests the priority," read a statement from the Revolution Co-ordination Commission. It added that Egyptians should show the civilised face of their great revolution, admired by the whole world. The same call for protesting next Friday was also made by the Revolution Youth Coalition, a broad bloc comprising a number of political groups. The coalition, however, said that the Tahrir sit-in would not end after the protest. "Let's get out to pressure the SCAF into realising the remaining demands of the revolution. But all political groups should set aside their ideological differences and focus on the revolution first," stressed Hamada el-Kashef, a key member of the coalition. Islamists are expected to show up in Tahrir on the same day. "We will take to streets on Friday to prevent remnants of the disbanded National Democratic Party from exploiting the opportunity to work against the revolution," said Essam el-Erian, deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. He added, however, that the party does not like the idea of holding a permanent sit-in until other demands are met. Last Friday, reports of scuffles between protesters and the military in Alexandria reached Tahrir Square. Witnesses said scuffles broke out between protesters and the military at their headquarters in Alexandria, following attempts by some protesters to block traffic and take their grievances inside the building. The reports drove hundreds of protesters out of Tahrir Square on Saturday, marching towards the Defence Ministry in el-Abbasiya, where the Military Council has its headquarters. The crowd picked up more people along the road, but soldiers blocked the road to the Ministry. The late night rally prompted a quick response from the military. The Council denied in a statement the use of violence against protesters and accused activists of driving a wedge between the people and the military. It singled out the April 6 Movement, one of the largest activist groups in Egypt and a leading force behind the protests that made Mubarak step down.
