CAIRO – There is public worry over Friday's demonstrations to protest against a supra-constitutional document, deemed by revolutionaries and Islamists as a hindrance to democratic change. The Muslim Brotherhood, youth groups, some opposition parties and political activists have confirmed that they will be taking part in the demonstrations in the iconic Tahrir Square in Cairo and other big cities nationwide. The Muslim Brotherhood will participate in Friday's demonstrations even if the document is amended, a top official in the group said on Wednesday. "[The Muslim Brotherhood] oppose the Selmy paper in principle, as the group reject forcing the imposition of supra-constitutional principles against the will of the people," said Mohamed Hassan Hammad, the group's secretary-general. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said on Wednesday that talks over amending the supra-constitutional document were underway. He said his deputy, Ali el-Selmi, was "holding consultations" over the matter. Hammad said the Muslim Brotherhood refused to meet with el-Selmi, who had called on the country's political powers to attend a meeting to discuss the supra-constitutional document on Tuesday. He reiterated that the document contained "dangerous articles", even if it were only a guiding paper. The Government is working on the document to amend some controversial articles, according to media reports. Commenting on the probable modifications to 'the Selmi paper', presidential hopeful Amr Moussa, former secretary-general of the Arab League, said those opposed to it might reconsider their stance in the wake of the changes. "I know that there has been a drastic change in the document over the past hours," Moussa said, adding that he hadn't read the modified document. Critics of the Selmi paper said that it was devised as a scheme to skip the March 19 referendum, which set the pace for parliamentary elections and a new a constitution after the ousting of Hosni Mubarak on February 11. They also cite two articles, the ninth and tenth, in the document, concerning the budget and legislation of the Armed Forces, as the most unacceptable articles. The Islamist movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, reject the document altogether, while youth groups are opposed to the ninth and tenth articles. The Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, and other parties, political groupings and Salafists, have threatened to escalate their protests against the document, even to the extent of organising a new uprising by January 25 next year. Although the Leftist El-Karama (Dignity) Party is against the ninth and tenth articles, it will not take part in tomorrow's demonstration, Mohamed Samy, the party's chairman, said on Wednesday. "Mobilising people to impose opinions is not the only method that political powers should have recourse to," Samy explained, adding that dialogue in these very critical circumstances is the best way forwards. A number of youth movements, including April 6 Youth Movement, the Revolution's Youth Coalition and the Youth Union of the Revolution, are expected to take part in the demonstrations, calling for a shift to civilian rule.
