US increases pressure on Egypt’s rulers

Associated Press

CAIRO

The U.S. increased pressure Friday on Egypt’s military rulers to hand over power to civilian leaders, and the generals turned to a Mubarak-era politician to head a new government in a move that failed to satisfy the more than 100,000 protesters who jammed Tahrir Square in the biggest rally yet this week.

The demonstrators rejected the appointment of Kamal el-Ganzouri as prime minister, breaking into chants of “Illegitimate! Illegitimate!” and setting up a showdown between the two sides only three days before key parliamentary elections.

The size of the rally and the resilience of protesters in the face of the violence used by security forces in this week’s deadly street battles have won back for the movement much of the strength it projected during the 18-day uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Showing the sort of resolve from the earliest days of the Arab Spring, the protesters say they will not leave the iconic square until the military rulers led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi step down and a civilian presidential council is formed to run the country until a new leader is elected.

“They stole our January revolution because we did not agree on who should represent us,” said activist Sedeeqah Abu Seadah. “We shouted ‘erhal’ [leave] but did not shout the name of the person we want.”

The military’s appointment of el-Ganzouri, its apology for the death of protesters and a series of partial concessions in the past two days suggest that the generals are struggling to overcome the most serious challenge to their nine-month rule, with fewer options now available to them.

Significantly adding to their predicament, the Obama administration brought its position on the crisis in Egypt closer to the protesters’ demands, urging the military to fully empower the next interim civilian government.