Egypt’s military rulers dissolve parliament

Associated Press

CAIRO

Egypt’s military rulers took sweeping action to dismantle the autocratic legacy of former President Hosni Mubarak on Sunday, dissolving parliament, suspending the constitution and promising elections in moves cautiously welcomed by pro-democracy demonstrators.

They also met with representatives of the broad-based youth movement that brought down the government after an 18-day uprising that transfixed the world.

The caretaker government, backed by the military, said restoring security was a top priority even as labor unrest reflected one of the many challenges of steering the Arab world’s biggest nation toward stability and democracy.

On Sunday, prominent activist Wael Ghonim posted on a Facebook page he manages notes from a meeting between members of the military council and youth representatives, which he described as encouraging.

The military defended the caretaker government, stocked with Mubarak loyalists, as necessary for now in the interest of stability but pledged to soon change it, said Ghonim and another protester, Amr Salama, in the statement.

Amendments to the much-reviled constitution will be prepared by an independent committee over the next 10 days and then presented for approval in a popular referendum to be held in two months, they said.

The military encouraged the youth to consider forming political parties — something difficult to do under the old system — and pledged to meet with them regularly.

Even amid the efforts to build a new system, Egypt’s upheaval has splintered into a host of smaller grievances, the inevitable outcome of emboldened citizens feeling free to speak up, most for the first time.

Egypt’s state news agency announced banks would be closed today due to strikes and again Tuesday for a public holiday. Dozens of employees protested alleged corruption at the state television building, which broadcast pro-Mubarak messages during the massive demonstrations against his rule.

The caretaker government met for the first time, and employees removed a huge framed photograph of Mubarak from the meeting room before they convened.

The crowds in the protest encampment that became a symbol of defiance against the government thinned out Sunday — the first working day since the regime fell. Troops cleared most of the makeshift tents and scuffled with holdout activists.

Meanwhile, Switzerland has frozen whatever assets Hosni Mubarak and his associates may have there, and anti-corruption campaigners are demanding the same of other countries. But experts say hunting for the deposed Egyptian leader’s purported hidden wealth — let alone recovering it — will be an enormous task.

Mubarak’s actual worth remains a mystery. A recent claim that he and his sons Gamal and Alaa may have amassed a fortune of up to $70 billion helped drive the protests that eventually brought him down.