Latest in Tag: scaf Highlight
Latest in Tag: scaf
Panel opposes political role for Egyptian military
By Hamza Hendawi / AP CAIRO: A key member of a panel drafting guidelines for Egypt’s next constitution said on Wednesday that most of the group’s 50 members object to giving the military a future role in politics. Legal expert Tahany El-Gibali said the binding principles will have enough guarantees to protect the rights of all …
Egypt’s military seeks future political role
By Hamza Hendawi / AP CAIRO: Egypt’s ruling generals are seeking to enshrine a future role for themselves with considerable independence from civilian leaders and possibly an authority to intervene in politics. The push appears to be driven by the military’s fear of losing the near-autonomous power it has enjoyed for nearly 60 years, but activists …
ElBaradei comes top in Egypt army Facebook survey
By AFP CAIRO: Former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei is the most popular choice for next Egyptian president, according to an army survey conducted on Facebook. The survey, which was launched a month ago on Facebook, asked members to rate their favorite for the country’s top job, in an exercise criticized as unrepresentative. ElBaradei …
Senior Egyptian military official heckled
By Sarah El Deeb / AP CAIRO: A member of Egypt’s ruling military council on Saturday briefly visited a protest camp in a central Cairo square, but left after protesters, some holding up shoes in anger, booed him off a stage. Maj. Gen. Tarek El-Mahdi had come to Tahrir Square to persuade a dozen demonstrators to …
Hundreds demonstrate in support of SCAF; promise a sit-in
By Tamim Elyan CAIRO: More than 500 demonstrated Friday at Roxy Square in support of the ruling military council in what they called “Friday of the silent majority – legitimacy first”, vowing to remain there until their demands are met. The protesters in the eastern Cairo district of Heliopolis marched later in the afternoon to Ministry …
National powers call for new gov’t, say sit-in will continue until demands are met
By Tamim Elyan CAIRO: Over 25 political parties, organizations, youth movements and five presidential candidates demanded in a statement Thursday the formation of a new government with a new leadership and “balancing” its authorities with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to perform its tasks. The national powers, who held a meeting Wednesday called …
Egypt army seeks to defuse tension with concessions
By Christophe de Roquefeuil / AFP CAIRO: Egypt’s ruling military council sought to placate an angry protest movement on Wednesday by announcing the sacking of hundreds of police officers and a delay of parliamentary elections. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces – which took power when president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February – has …
SCAF says will not use violence against peaceful protesters
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) will utilize all available means to deal with the open sit-in at Tahrir Square, except the use of violence, said General Mahmoud Hegazy at a press conference Tuesday. Hegazy stressed that the SCAF guarantees the freedom of peaceful protests and expression, as long as …
Protesters angered by SCAF statement, liken it to Mubarak days
By Heba Fahmy and Brett Borkan CAIRO: Protesters across Cairo erupted in anger following statements Tuesday morning by Egypt’s ruling military council, describing its tone as aggressive, confrontational, and reminiscent of the days under ousted president Hosni Mubarak. A planned march towards the Cabinet building in Downtown Cairo began at 6 pm. “The speech was stupid, …
Egypt’s latest crisis puts pressure on leadership
By Hamza Hendawi / AP CAIRO: The head of Egypt’s security forces has defied orders by the prime minister to fire police officers accused of killing protesters during the nation’s popular uprising, in a dispute illustrating the strains of a government facing escalating public pressure to bring former regime figures to justice. Egyptians have again taken …
Activists say SCAF’s fund for injured and martyrs ‘overdue’
By Marwa Al-A’asar CAIRO: The ruling military council’s decision to compensate the injured and families of the martyrs of the revolution is “long overdue,” activists said Friday. On Thursday evening, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) announced the creation of a fund, affiliated to the Cabinet, to offer healthcare and social services …
ANALYSIS: Egypt army may pull strings from barracks in future
By Edmund Blair /Reuters CAIRO: Hossam El-Hamalawy is used to being in trouble with the authorities. State security hauled him in three times for his activism when Hosni Mubarak was in power. He hoped Egypt’s uprising would end such summonses. It didn’t. He was called in again in May for questioning. But one element changed. It …
Deputy PM says he resigned several times before
By Marwa Al-A’aras CAIRO: After his resignation was rejected by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Deputy Prime Minister Yehia El-Gamal said Wednesday evening it was not the first time he attempted to leave this post. “Due to many circumstances, I presented my resignation to [Prime Minister Essam Sharaf] but he turned it …
Return to Tahrir to pressure for constitution first possible, says party head
By Tamim Elyan CAIRO: National political currents have the right to boycott elections and return to Tahrir to pressure the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to draft a new constitution first before legislative and presidential elections if they feel there is no level playing field, said head of the Democratic Front Party, Osama Al-Ghazaly …
Egyptian youth activists set conditions for SCAF dialogue
By Marwa Al-A’asar CAIRO: Youth activists welcomed Monday Egypt’s ruling army council’s initiative to enter into dialogue with the younger generation, but insist on a “binding agenda” as a precondition. “Such meetings need to be held to exchange views,” spokesman of the April 6 Youth Movement Mohamed Adel told Daily News Egypt, adding that the group …
Egypt military struggles to find its place with youth
By Samer al-Atrush / AFP CAIRO: Egypt’s military was feted for its stand during the revolt that ousted president Hosni Mubarak. But when a general recounted its role to over 1,000 young people, several in the crowd showed they were in no mood to accept any boasting. “What would have happened if the military, when it …
Army denies bias to Brotherhood in latest statement, says analyst
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: Communiqué 59 is a rebuttal of accusations that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood, analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah, a researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Daily News Egypt. “The army’s decision not to protect the protests in Tahrir on …
Bloggers slam army council in anti-SCAF blogging day
By Mai Shams El-Din CAIRO: Egyptian bloggers slammed the policies of the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) on Monday after a call to publish blog posts criticizing the military rulers to break the fear barrier and media silence over what the bloggers referred to as the SCAF’s violations. Over 250 blog posts were published …
Army’s latest statement a warning against mass protests, says analyst
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: “The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) issued its last statement to warn the people against holding mass protests on May 27,” analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah, a researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies told Daily News Egypt on Monday. “The vagueness in the army’s last statement increases the …
SCAF denies recent detention cases
By Mai Shams El-Din CAIRO: The Supreme Council of Armed Forces denied in its 45 statement Tuesday reports of recent detentions against activists and the January 25 youth. “The SCAF will not hesitate to reinvestigate all detention cases against the youth who were arrested in unclear conditions,” the statement read. The statement described the reports as …
Opposition up in arms against constitutional decree
By Heba Fahmy CAIRO: Opposition groups criticized the constitutional decree announced Wednesday by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), stressing that it should have been put to a public referendum for approval. The SCAF was expected to announce the decree at least one week ago, but media leaks suggested that there was controversy over …
Military Council to end emergency before polls, says committee
By Marwa Awad /Reuters CAIRO: Egypt’s ruling military council intends to lift emergency laws before parliamentary and presidential elections are held, a member of a committee redrafting the constitution said on Wednesday. “The military council said it guaranteed lifting the emergency law ahead of parliament and then presidential elections,” Sobhi Saleh, the only member of …
Egyptians air grievances, ignoring army warning
By Maggie Michael / AP CAIRO: Airport employees protested for better pay Wednesday, textile workers went on strike to demand a corruption investigation and residents of a Suez Canal city pressed for closing a chemical factory they say is dumping toxic waste into a lake in the latest wave of unrest shaking Egypt. The ruling …
Military eager for Egypt to return to work
By Marwa Awad and Shaimaa Fayed / Reuters CAIRO: The military hoped tens of thousands of Egyptians would heed its appeal to get back to work on Wednesday and abandon the strikes and protests that flared after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak offered new freedoms. Facing a rash of pent-up labor demands from groups ranging …
Armed Forces suspend constitution, dissolve parliament
By Mai Shams El-Din CAIRO: Egypt’s military leaders dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution Sunday in an attempt to meet the key demands of protesters after Hosni Mubarak stepped down. “In a country like Egypt, with a pharaonic legacy, having no president and no head of state is not easy,” said Amr El-Choubaki, a member of …
Watchdog: Egyptian military oppressing journalists
By AP CAIRO: An international journalism watchdog group has accused Egypt’s military of obstructing the work of reporters covering the crisis in the country. On Tuesday, foreign reporters in Egypt without local credentials were not permitted by the military to enter Tahrir Square, where thousands of protesters have been calling for President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster …