Local Editor
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| Sharaf government resigns, military council yet to accept offer |
Egypt’s interim government offered resignation late on Monday as several political forces called for a mass rally on Tuesday.
"The government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has handed its resignation to the [ruling] Supreme Council of the Armed Forces," cabinet spokesman, Mohammed Hegazy, said in a statement aired on Monday night by the official MENA news agency.
"Owing to the difficult circumstances the country is going through, the government will continue working" until the resignation is accepted, Hegazy added.
Meanwhile, Egyptian political forces behind the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's former president, called for a mass rally on Tuesday
to demand the army cede power to a civilian government.
The Coalition of Revolution Youth and the April 6 movement, among others, called for the protest at 4:00pm local time (14:00 GMT) on Tuesday in Tahrir Square.
Egypt's health ministry said at least 33 people had been killed and 1,500 wounded in clashes between government forces and protesters since Saturday, raising concerns over parliamentary elections due to begin later this month.
As the death toll rose on Monday, the military council tried to distance itself from the violence, reiterating commitment to its "road map" for transition and expressing "sorrow" over the situation.
In a statement, the military council appealed for calm and asked the country's justice ministry to investigate the violence, the worst since Mubarak was toppled in February.
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| Egypt military calls for crisis talks with political forces |
The council also invited "all the political and national forces for an emergency dialogue to look into the reasons behind the aggravation of the current crisis and ways to resolve it as quickly as possible".
Egyptians are scheduled to elect a new parliament in a staggered vote starting on November 28. Yet, even when the assembly is picked, executive powers would remain with the army until a presidential election, which may not happen until late 2012 or early 2013.
Protesters want a much swifter transition with presidential elections by April 2012.
"We are all insisting on having the election on time; the government, parties and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces," Hegazy, the cabinet spokesman, said.
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Source: Agencies
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 According to Amnesty, Tantawi is not killing his people, Egyptian army just failed to protect rights. The USA, surprised with the new revoltion, is worried, the White House urges that elections be held on time.to bring an Egyptian Erdugan who would honor and uphold the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty subject to Israeli treatment of the Palestinian people."
"A military source told Al-Ahram daily newspaper that SCAF is still studying Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s resignation and that parliamentary elections will not be postponed."Egypt's military is considering ElBaradei to replace PM Sharaf.Our "Muslim" Brothers, unlike Amnesty, blamed the interior ministry, Tantawi hasn't "failed to protect rights". Our "brothers" linked the Tahrir clashes to "desperate attempts made for months to halt the process of handing power over to the peoeple through the parliamentary elections.". They failed to mention who stands behind the claimed attempts, most likely they meant the most important activist movements, April 6 Movement, who "announced they will continue their sit-ins in Cairo's Tahrir Square and in other governorates, demanding the ruling military junta transfer power to a civilian presidential council."Consequently, "The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party issued a statement on Monday announcing that it will not participate "in any sit-in or protest that may lead to more confrontations and congestion," in other words that may may delay the "timely transition to democracy" and disappoint the White HouseTuesday 22 November 2011 : 09:40 AM  The White House says the eruption of violence in Egypt should not stand in the way of elections and the rapid transition to democracy.
Spokesman Jay Carney says the US is deeply concerned about the violence and is calling for restraint on all sides. He says despite the clashes between security forces and protesters, Egypt must proceed with a timely transition to democracy.
The clashes in Cairo’s Tahrir Square are the most sustained challenge yet to Egypt’s military rule since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February. The activists are demanding that the military hand over power to a civilian government.
Thousands of protesters have filled Cairo's central Tahrir Square calling for the military to spell out when it will hand over power to a civilian government. At least 33 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces over the past three days.
Egypt is slated to begin its first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections on 28 November.
Egypt's Muslim Brothers vows not to participate in any more demonstrations
 The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party issued a statement on Monday announcing that it will not participate "in any sit-in or protest that may lead to more confrontations and congestion," the party wrote in a statement it issued to reporters.
"In the meantime, we will be striving along with other parties to abort the sedition that the interior ministry has instigated in the country," the statement said.
Cairo police on Monday fought protesters demanding an end to army rule for a third day on Monday and the death toll rose to at least 33, with many victims shot, in the worst violence since the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
The party demanded that the ones repsonsible for the killing of potesters be brought to justice. In the meantime, it linked the Tahrir clashes to "desperate attempts made for months to halt the process of handing power over to the peoeple through the parliamentary elections."
As night fell, thousands of people packed Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the anti-Mubarak revolt in January and February. The clashes threaten to disrupt Egypt's first free parliamentary election in decades, due to start next Monday.
"The people want the fall of the marshal," they chanted, referring to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister for two decades and head of the army council.
Clashes flared in side-streets near Tahrir. Witnesses said looters, not necessarily connected to the protests, had attacked the American University in Cairo and other buildings.
Protesters have brandished bullet casings in the square, where police moved in with batons and tear gas on Saturday against a protest then dominated by Islamists but since driven by young people with secular aims. Police deny using live fire.
Medical sources at Cairo's main morgue said 33 corpses had been received since Saturday, most with bullet wounds. One source at the morgue said the toll had risen to 46. At least 1,250 people have been wounded, a Health Ministry source said.
Almasry Alyoum |
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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