By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: Egypt’s opposition groups said they have faith in the army to see the country through this transitional period, however they expect more in terms of answering popular demands.
“The Muslim Brotherhood confirms that it and the people respect and trust the army, which throughout the revolution continued to demonstrate [restraint], caring for the good of one and all,” read a statement issued by the Brotherhood on Sunday.
The statement added that the Brotherhood called on the army to answer additional demands that wouldn’t need time to implement and set a time frame for their execution.
These demands include the release of all detainees who were arrested during the revolution and political prisoners who were sentenced by exceptional courts; the annulment of the emergency law: forming a new cabinet accepted by the people; and the immediate investigation in the death of the martyrs.
The Supreme Council of Armed Forces dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution in its fifth communiqué on Sunday. The council said it would form a committee to amend changes to some articles of the constitution and to set the rules for a popular referendum to endorse the amendments.
The current cabinet which was assigned by ousted president Hosni Mubarak will be in charge until a new one is formed.
“There are many positive aspects to the military’s statement that responded to the people’s demands like dissolving the parliament and amending the constitution,” former Muslim Brotherhood MP Mohamed El-Beltagi said.
“However the main question is who will be really ruling this country; the army or the cabinet which was handpicked by ousted President Mubarak?”
El-Beltagi added that the people want to rid the country of any figures affiliated with the previous regime.
“We want a national interim government that includes experts who we can trust in holding free and fair elections.”
The general coordinator of April 6 Youth Movement Ahmed Maher told Daily News Egypt, “We have complete faith in the army which has already started to implement our demands.”
“They just need more time to execute them and the reform process has to be done gradually,” he added.
Maher said that army officials had a four-hour meeting with April 6 Youth Movement on Sunday to discuss their demands and how they can be implemented step by step.
These demands include the formation of a new constitution, persecuting corrupt officials and the people involved in the death of the martyrs and releasing all those who were detained during the revolution.
“We trust the army, but the people’s demands must be heeded,” Karima Al-Hifnawy, member of the National Association for Change and the Kefaya Movement for Change, told Daily News Egypt.
“We welcome any step towards achieving our demands, but we want a new constitution, not mere amendments,” Al-Hifnawy said. “We want a new national government that has no affiliation with the previous regime.”
Ayman Nour, leader of Al-Ghad Party, agreed with Al-Hifnawy saying, ”The army’s statement is a good step, but we hope a new constitution is formed for the country.”
Al-Hifnawy added that a presidential council of civilians and military citizens should be formed to rule the country during the transitional period instead of having a military rule.
The council said it will run the country for six months or until presidential and parliamentary elections are held.
Leaders of Al-Wafd and Tagammu parties believed the army was moving in the right direction. However, they added that there were vague points in the army’s announcements that needed to be clarified and discussed.
“These details include whether the parliamentary elections will be held before or after the presidential elections and which is in the country’s best interest,” Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, secretary general of Al-Wafd party, said.
He added that it wasn’t clear how long the current Cabinet will be in place and whether the whole constitution will be amended or only the articles that were discussed before Mubarak stepped down, to insure free and fair presidential elections.
Refaat Al-Saeid, head of Tagammu Party, said, “A lot of the points were vague including which articles of the constitution will be amended and which committee will execute the amendments.”
“There are also many demands that haven’t been addressed yet, including the emergency law, minimum wages and protecting people’s rights,” Al-Saeid added.
Nabil Abdel Fattah, a political analyst from Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said that the army’s statements have been reasonable so far except for the point regarding the amendment of the constitution.
“The constitution represents the previous authoritarian regime and was tailored specifically to benefit the interests of Mubarak and Anwar Sadat,” Abdel Fattah said. “We need a new constitution that turns Egypt into a parliamentary system.”
Abdel Fattah added that an elected constituent assembly including constitutional experts and judges should form the new constitution.
“Until now, we have faith in the army, but even more we have faith in the Egyptian people who are capable of defending their revolution and achieving democracy,” he added.
The Brotherhood, April 6 and the Kefaya Movement said they were calling for a million man march on Friday to voice their demands.
