Traffic returns to Tahrir

CAIRO — Traffic flowed through Cairo’s Tahrir Square yesterday after the end of a three-day sit-in to mark one year since the uprising that forced president Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Tents were still pitched in the centre of the square, where dozens of protesters gathered ahead of demonstrations to demand the ouster of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) now ruling the country.

Egyptians had thronged Tahrir and other main squares in cities across the country since Wednesday, to commemorate the 18-day revolt that ousted Mubarak after 30 years of autocratic rule.

A year after the uprising, protesters accuse the military council of mismanagement and human rights abuses.

Several new marches were planned yesterday but were expected to be smaller than the vast crowds who took to the streets the day before.

Protesters are all demanding an end to military trials of civilians, the restructuring of the interior ministry and a guarantee of freedoms and social justice.

But the Muslim Brotherhood — which won a crushing victory in parlimantary elections contested over three months — has been less vocal in demanding the army step down, prompting tensions with anti-military protesters on Friday.

Secular protesters argue that the 2011 uprising only decapitated a corrupt regime, and that the journey to democratic rule is far from over. — AFP