CAIRO: Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf agreed to organize a million-man march in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square this Friday, August 12. He demanded there be no strikes which could impede the interests of the people. During a meeting with a delegation of the demonstration's coordinating committee, Sharaf stressed that Egyptians have the right to peacefully demonstrate without violating security or impeding traffic. Members of the delegation insisted on holding the demonstration in Tahrir after the Maghreb prayer on Friday. They pledged that the square will be evacuated at midnight. The delegation called on Sharaf to announce the cabinet's situation on the constitution, religious discrimination and Salafi attacks on churches and religious shrines. Sharaf promised to issue a statement clarifying the government's position on those issues today, Tuesday. The coordinating committee met until early Tuesday morning, considering Sharaf's statements as a preliminary agreement for organizing the demonstration. In related news, the High Council of Sufis issued a statement refusing to participate in Friday's demonstration. The statement said that all Sufi groups refuse the demonstrations. Earlier, Sufis had called for demonstrations on Friday, but insisted they be held somewhere other than Tahrir Square. The Sufi statement also criticized Egyptian media and newspapers, which they say were not accurate in publishing news about Sufi entities. The Sufi council warned of raising sectarian tension, which would harm the interests of the people and the unity of the country. It demanded that Egyptian citizens, both Muslim and Christian, unify themselves in the current critical stage. Arabic here.
