Thousands in Tahrir Square on ‘Last Chance Friday’
Thousands of supporters of Egypt's ruling military council turned up for a rally in Cairo's Abassiya neighborhood on Friday, just miles from a mass protest in Tahrir Square calling for the end of military rule.
"The military, the police and the people are one," the protesters chanted according to the MENA news agency.
The rally came after a week of protests and clashes between police and anti-military demonstrators, that left at least 41 people dead and over 3,000 injured.
The army, whose tanks were cheered by raucous crowds during the revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak, have come increasingly under fire for pulling the reins on reform.
The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has vowed to hand power to a civilian authority after presidential elections which are to take place no later than June 2012.
According to a public opinion survey conducted by the University of Maryland, 43 percent of Egyptians believe their military rulers are working to slow or reverse the gains made in the Tahrir Square uprising.
Another 21 percent felt the military authorities were striving to advance those gains, while 14 percent considered them to be indifferent, according to a five-nation snapshot of Arab public opinion.
Some 750 Egyptians in Cairo, Alexandria, Giza, Qaliubiya, Al Minia (Upper Egypt) and al-Ismailiyah (Suez Canal) took part in the October 22-30 poll, with a margin of error of 3.7 percent.
Source: Agence France Presse
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