Egypt military ruler moves up presidential vote

Egypt’s military leader promised to speed the transition to civilian rule, saying that presidential elections will be held by the end of June 2012. But the major concession was immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, who responded with chants of “Leave, leave” now.Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi vowed that landmark parliamentary elections will start on schedule on Monday, the first vote since longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was ousted in an uprising nine months ago. And he said the military was prepared to hold a referendum on immediately transferring power to a civilian authority if people demand it.Tantawi said he has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s civilian government and politicians who attended a 5-hour crisis meeting with the ruling generals said the military intended to replace Sharaf’s cabinet with a “national salvation” government. It was not clear who might head the new Cabinet, but names of a couple presidential hopefuls were mentioned.“Our demands are clear,” said Khaled El-Sayed, a protester from the Youth Revolution Coalition and a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary election. “We want the military council to step down and hand over authority to a national salvation government with full authority.” He also demanded that the commander of the military police and the Interior Minister, who is in charge of the police, be tried for the “horrific crimes” of the past few days, when 29 people were killed in clashes, most of them in Cairo.The standoff culminated four days of clashes and demonstrations around the country that have constituted the most sustained challenge so far to nine months of military rule. It plunges the country deeper into a crisis that may only hamper the democratic transition the protesters are fighting for.In Tahrir Square, the atmosphere was reminiscent of the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak, with jubilation over the large turnout mixed with the seething anger directed at the military. On Tuesday, the protesters had called for a million people to turn out and drew a massive crowd of tens of thousands.The crowds carried an open wooden coffin with a body of a slain protester wrapped in white and held a funeral in the middle of the square.A stuffed military uniform was hung from a central light pole with a cardboard sign on its neck saying “Execute the field marshal,” a reference to Tantawi, Mubarak’s defense minister of 20 years. People cheered when the effigy was hung and state television showed some hitting it with sticks or shoes.Men in the square opened a corridor in the middle of the crowds and formed a human chain to keep it open, giving easy access to motorcycles and ambulances ferrying the wounded to several field hospitals in the square.