Protesters Won't Leave Tahrir Square
The Washington Post reports:
Even as they celebrated their triumph over a dictator, many of Egypt's revolutionaries vowed Saturday to continue their peaceful occupation of Tahrir Square, saying their demands for democracy and accountability were still unmet.
Smaller but still vibrant crowds of elated Egyptians packed the square in central Cairo to take stock of their improbable success at ousting President Hosni Mubarak and to contemplate what might come next. Soldiers remained posted outside the square, ostensibly to maintain order, but they grinned approvingly at the spectacle unfolding before them.
Egypt's military chiefs, who took control of the country after Mubarak's abrupt abdication Friday, said in a statement Saturday afternoon that Egypt would abide by all its international agreements, including Israel, and that they had asked the current government to stay in place until a new one is formed. The statement also said that the military is committed to eventually handing over power to an elected administration.
Earlier, the military had partially lifted an emergency curfew that the government had imposed during the protests and also prohibited former government officials from leaving the country without permission.
Still, the revolution's path remained murky. The new military rulers gave no details of how they planned to govern - or whether they intended to give the revolutionaries a seat at the table.
"We're staying put. We're not leaving until the regime is gone," said Issa Adel Issa, one of the many youthful organizers of the encampment at Tahrir, or Liberation, Square. "We don't want a military government. We want a democracy with civilians in charge."
Issa ticked off a list of demands: the dissolution of Mubarak's handpicked parliament; the dissolution of his ruling National Democratic Party; the release of thousands of political prisoners; and prosecution of those responsible for the deaths of an estimated 300 demonstrators who were killed during the 18-day revolution.
"We have to sentence those responsible for these crimes," he said.
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