CAIRO - Egyptian revolutionaries, political groups and Islamists have called on Egyptians to take to the streets next Friday in a new protest against a recent decision to activate the long-standing Emergency Law, accusing the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) of breaking a promise to cancel the ill-famed law. "We call for a new protest to confront this bid to thwart the demands of the revolution. All such attempts to repress the Egyptian people will fail," read a statement by the Revolution's Youth Union. It added that the Emergency Law's re-introduction shows that the SCAF's way of managing the country during the transitional period is 'not acceptable'. "Still, a main demand is for the SCAF to declare a deadline for handing over power to an elected civil authority," the statement added, rejecting bids to tarnish the image of the revolution and the revolutionaries by describing them as thugs. The SCAF outlined new areas where they would use the emergency laws, citing activities such as blocking roads, publishing false information and the possession of weapons. The toughening of the emergency laws comes after protesters attacked the Israeli Embassy and a police station last week, leading to clashes with riot police in which three people were killed and more than 1,000 injured. Mamdouh Shahin, a member of the SCAF, said that some articles of the Emergency Law, which will be in effect until June 2012, have been reintroduced, "due to the security circumstances through which the country is passing". "The current incidents have led us to use the Emergency Law against thugs, who will be referred to emergency courts with the same rights as ordinary courts," said Shahin. He added that the SCAF has decided to do this, after receiving reports that there are some foreign hands 'tampering with Egypt's security and seeking to destabilise the country'. Minister of Justice Mohamed Abdel-Aziz el-Guindi told the semi-official Al-Ahram newspaper that a tiny Gulf country gave a well-known Egyptian association LE181 million in February to try to destabilise Egyptian society. He said it is illegal for the unidentified association to receive any funds or grants. El-Guindi added that he had received a report showing that several limitrophe countries have offered millions of pounds to Egyptian human rights and civil society organisations, some of which are not registered. "The report has been submitted to the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the Prime Minister to take appropriate action against the funding," he pointed out, adding that the Cabinet will announce its findings on the report within the next few days. Seven months after protesters toppled president Hosni Mubarak and the military took power on an interim basis, many supporters of the protest movement say they are concerned that the military rulers are backsliding on reform pledges. "The SCAF is to blame for the violence outside the Israeli Embassy, as it did not make a stern response to the killing of Egyptian soldiers on the border. The police also used excessive force against the protesters," said Hamada el-Kashef, a member of the Revolution's Youth Union. He added that the hesitancy on the part of the rulers is to blame for such chaos on the Egyptian streets. Presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei said: "It is the normal right of every Egyptian to be tried in front of an ordinary judge, but it is, unfortunately, not what we see, as we are relying more on military and extraordinary courts." The Emergency Law was widely applied under Mubarak's rule to stifle opposition. In place for decades, it gives the State ultimate powers to question or detain citizens. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's best organised political group, has condemned the use of emergency courts in one of its strongest statements against the military to date. The group, expected to benefit from an early vote, have tended to take a softer line than other activists in the past. "We confirm our rejection of any attempt to exploit what has been happening to issue martial laws or decrease the margin of freedoms," the group's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, said. The Islamist group have condemned the violence by protesters targeting the Israeli Embassy and other police sites, but they also blame the Army for not taking a tough enough stance against Israel.
