The SCAF has appointed 78-year-old Kamal Ganzouri as Egypt’s new prime minister. Ganzouri previously served as Mubarak’s prime minister from 1996-1999. A military source said that Ganzouri will be tasked with forming a salvation government to replace Sharaf’s cabinet, which collectively resigned last week. Protesters have overwhelmingly rejected news of the appointment, with thousands rallying outside the cabinet building chanting anti-Ganzouri slogans.
PROTESTS:
1) Over 20 political parties and movements have called for a mass marches in Cairo and other governorates to demand an immediate end to military rule. Secondary demands include the formation of a civilian presidential council or “national salvation government” with full executive powers; the release of arrested activists, an end to military trials for civilians, and a radical restructuring of the Interior Ministry. Participating groups include the Revolutionary Youth Coalition (RYC), April 6 Youth Movement, and the Free Egyptians Party, and presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei joined protesters for Friday prayers. The Muslim Brotherhood and Wafd Party are both boycotting the protest, although a large contingent of Brotherhood youth (many of them members of the Islamist Egyptian Current Party) have defied the group’s official stance by joining the demonstration. [al-Ahram, English, 11/25/2011] [al-Ahram, English, 11/25/2011]
2) After announcing that its members would not participate in Friday’s mass demonstration in Tahrir Square, the Muslim Brotherhood called for an alternative million-man march in defense of Arab Jerusalem’s Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, starting outside of al-Azhar. [al-Ahram, English, 11/25/2011]
3) Egyptian-American journalist Mona al-Tahawy claims to have been physically and sexually assaulted by Central Security Forces after being arrested on Mohamed Mahmoud Street on November 24. [al-Ahram, English, 11/24/2011]
NEW PRIME MINISTER:
4) The SCAF has appointed 78-year-old Kamal Ganzouri as Egypt’s new prime minister. Ganzouri previously served as Mubarak’s prime minister from 1996-1999. A military source said that Ganzouri will be tasked with forming a salvation government to replace Sharaf’s cabinet, which collectively resigned last week. Protesters have overwhelmingly rejected news of the appointment, with thousands rallying outside the cabinet building chanting anti-Ganzouri slogans. Michele Dunne analyzes Ganzouri’s appointment at EgyptSource. [AP, English, 11/25/2011] [EgyptSource, English, 11/25/2011] [al-Ahram, English, 11/25/2011] [al-Shorouk, Arabic, 11/25/2011]
5) In a televised press conference, newly appointed Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri said that the new cabinet will enjoy greater powers than its predecessor, and stressed that Field Marshal Tantawi has no intention of remaining in power.
6) The April 6 Youth Movement issued a statement officially rejecting the appointment of Kamal Ganzouri while the “Coalition of Egyptian Revolutionaries” – representing a number of protest movements – called for the formation of a presidential council “trio” including presidential candidates Mohamed ElBaradei, Aboul Moneim Aboul Fotouh and Hossam Issa to oversee the transitional period. [al-Shorouk, Arabic, 11/25/2011]
7) Protest movements in Tahrir Square are debating a proposal by blogger Malek Mostafa recommending the formation of a civilian presidential council including presidential candidates Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, Mohamed ElBaradei, Hamdeen Sabbahi, Hazem Salah Abou Ismail and Bothaina Kamel, in addition to reform-minded judges such as Hisham El-Bastawisi and Ahmed Mekky. [al-Ahram, English, 11/25/2011]
ELECTIONS:
8) Newly appointed Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri confirmed that elections will proceed as planned on November 28, but said he will not have time to form a new government before polling begins. Michele Dunne, writing on EgyptSource, suggests that mass demonstrations may necessitate a delay. [Al Jazeera, English, 11/25/2011] [EgyptSource, English, 11/25/2011]
9) The Social Democratic Party has announced that it will boycott parliamentary elections, saying that elections cannot be free and fair unless a salvation government – chosen by Egypt’s political forces – is immediately formed and empowered to assist in supervising the polling. “We cannot entrust the military council to administer these elections,” the party said in a statement. [al-Ahram, English, 11/25/2011]
U.S. POLICY
10) The White House for the first time explicitly urged Egypt’s military leaders to give up power “as soon as possible” in a November 25 statement. “The United States strongly believes that the new Egyptian government must be empowered with real authority immediately … Most importantly, we believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible,” the statement said. [New York Times, English, 11/25/2011]
11) An Egyptian court on ordered the release of three American students who had been arrested during protests in Tahrir Square and charged with throwing Molotov cocktails at police. [New York Times, English, 11/25/2011]
SINAI SECURITY:
12) Masked gunmen blew up a gas pipeline near the Sinai town of al-Arish, in the eighth such attack this year. The pipeline supplies Egyptian gas to Israel and Jordan. [AFP, English, 11/25/2011]
