Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri held a meeting with protesters on Monday to negotiate an end to the sit-in currently ongoing outside the cabinet building.
Ganzouri met with a group representing the protesters' demands, including Hafez Abou Seda, the head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, Ahmed Ragheb, the head of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, Nasser Ameen, a member of the National Council for Human Rights and Mohamed Hanafy, the coordinator for an initiative to end the sit-in.
Ameen said the protesters are demanding the release of all detainees arrested during clashes in Mohamed Mahmoud Street and at Maspero. They are also demanding appropriate treatment for the injured and that those killed at Mohamed Mahmoud be counted as martyrs of the revolution.
Dozens of workers from MOPCO, a company shut down by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) over alleged environment violations, protested in front of the cabinet to call for the reopening of their factory.
Also, dozens of workers from Misr Monufiya Spinning and Weaving protested in front of the cabinet to demand the payment of salaries.
So far, protesters have blocked Ganzouri from entering his office twice.
Ganzouri met with the MOPCO workers, who said environment ministry reports demonstrate that the factory is not harmful to the environment. They also said that their company is losing US$5 million daily due to its closure.
Ganzouri, for his part, said he needed some time to find a solution to the crisis.
Meanwhile, protesters accused Ganzouri of having been part of Mubarak’s regime, and asserted that he would not be allowed into his office.
Mohamed al-Sanadily, an official spokesperson for the protesters, said the sit-in would continue until the SCAF relinquishes power, and revolutionary youths run the country. He added that protesters throughout Egypt have decided to form a leadership council to run the country’s affairs during the transition.
He added that the revolutionary government would be formed by the end of this week. Ahmed Abou Zeid, one of the protesters, said the SCAF wants to abort the revolution and appoint Mubarak’s men to implement its policies.
A group calling itself “The Revolution Leadership Council” on Monday issued a statement titled “The First Statement for the Revolution,” in which they accused the SCAF of acting in favor of counter-revolutionaries.
“That is why revolutionary powers have decided to isolate the SCAF for insisting on adopting the policies of the former regime, running the country’s affairs badly, and failing to formulate a new constitution to protect the country’s interests,” the statement read.
The statement also called for the nationalization of property belonging to corrupt figures, returning stolen funds, and the cancelation of all treaties that harm Egypt’s interests.
The statement also emphasized the need to achieve the well-being of Egyptians, and called on all honest Egyptians to reclaim their revolution and oppose those who conspire against it.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
