More than 80 political groups released a statement Wednesday rejecting military rule and saying Parliament is the only legitimate representative of the people.
The groups included the April 6 Youth Movement, 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition, Popular Alliance Party, Adl Party, Wafd Party, Wasat Party and the Liars campaign, a movement to raise awareness about military violations.
The statement called on newly elected MPs to take responsibility and work to achieve seven demands: a military power hand-over, a new constitution, justice for martyrs' killers, social justice, freedom of expression, and a purge of corruption from the media and judiciary. It called on Egyptians to take to the streets Wednesday to complete the revolution.
The groups stressed the necessity of an immediate power handover to Parliament, which would supervise the writing of the constitution and presidential elections. They called on Parliament not to approve constitutional articles that provide the military with powers beyond those internationally recognized.
The groups demanded retaliation for protesters killed over the past year. They referred to ousted President Hosni Mubarak's lawyer's claims that Mubarak has the right to return to the presidency because he never signed a resignation later, and called for Mubarak and former regime figures to be tried on treason charges for corrupting political life for 30 years.
The statement demanded immediate, serious investigations of those involved in the violent dispersal of protesters on 9 March and 8 April, as well the dispersal of the cabinet sit-in in November.
The groups also pressed for a minimum and maximum wage for all state institutions, including the military; health insurance for all citizens; an end to military trials and retrials in civilian courts for citizens sentenced in such tribunals; a purge and restructuring of the Interior Ministry; and the repeal of laws that permit the shooting of protesters.
The statement said the demands result from what it described as the military's failure. It said none of the revolution's demands, such as dignity and social justice, have been achieved over the past year and emphasized that thousands of Egyptians sacrificed their lives or were injured for the sake of those demands.
