CAIRO: The Egyptian Revolution Council is calling for a million-man demonstration after tomorrow's Iftar meal if toppled President Hosni Mubarak does not physically appear in court for his trial, scheduled to begin August 3. All political, liberal, Islamic and socialist powers are behind the call for a million person demonstration in Tahrir Square tomorrow if, for any reason, Mubarak fails to appear, according to a Council statement. The demonstration will commence if Mubarak is not physically present inside the courtroom tomorrow. The goal of the demonstration is to combat any last-minute attempts to thwart the prosecution of Mubarak for, among other charges, allegedly killing demonstrators during the January 25 Revolution and during the Battle of the Camel. The brutal dispersal of the Tahrir sit-in yesterday was not dissimilar from actions carried out during the former regime, read the Council's statement. Beating and intimidating demonstrators are considered acts of terror and must be punished regardless of whether they are attributable to the government or to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the statement continued. The SCAF should be celebrating protestors and congratulating them on their sit-in, the statement read, but rather the protestors were chased off and, in some cases, detained. The Council called on SCAF to release all detained civilians, activists and protestors rounded up yesterday, the first day of Ramadan, during the security siege on Tahrir.
