Egyptian Protesters Press Army for Reforms

Massive Rally in Tahrir Square

The Egyptian military junta has imposed a ban on public protests, and early in March troops cleared Tahrir Square of demonstrators. Now with another month come and gone and no meaningful reforms, impatience is growing.

Friday, tens of thousands of protesters returned to the square to reiterate their demands. Many accused the junta of protecting ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak and his son Gamal from prosecution.

Some of the protesters demanded Mubarak’s execution, while others demanded the ouster of Field Marshall Tantawi, a Mubarak loyalist who is in charge of the military junta which was supposed to transition into free elections.

Still others protested in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo, complaining about the strikes in the Gaza Strip. The military tried to placate the protests across the nation with vague promises of eventual reforms, but anger seems clearly on the rise in Egypt again, and patience is wearing thin.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.