by Samer al-Atrush

16 Feb 2011

CAIRO (AFP) – Egypt's military rulers warned that a wave of strikes sweeping the country was "disastrous," as it gave a panel of civilian experts 10 days to revise the constitution.

Against a backdrop of persistent nationwide walkouts and street protests, the junta promised to rapidly restore constitutional rule following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's regime.
Despite the warning workers in Egypt's largest factory relaunched a strike for higher wages and better conditions Wednesday.

Faisal Naousha, a strike organiser, told AFP that that workers in the Misr Spinning and Weaving textile factory -- which employs 24,000 people in the Nile Delta city of Al-Mahalla al-Kubra -- also want two top managers to resign.
The workers had suspended a strike three days ago, but Naousha said at the time they would continue to press for higher wages.

US President Barack Obama said the transition in Egypt was a model for autocratic Middle Eastern allies, and encouraged the Iranian people to press their quest for democracy after protests on Monday in which two people died.

US network CBS meanwhile said top foreign correspondent Lara Logan was recovering in hospital after suffering a "brutal and sustained" sexual assault and beating from a mob in Egypt while covering Mubarak's downfall Friday.
A group of women and soldiers had eventually rescued her, CBS said in a statement.

Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces instructed an eight-strong panel of jurists and scholars to "amend all articles as it sees fit to guarantee democracy and the integrity of presidential and parliamentary elections."

The panel "must finish its work in a period of no longer than 10 days after the date of this decision," and must strike down the articles giving presidents unlimited terms in office and the right to refer cases to military courts.
The military took power on Friday when Mubarak's near 30-year rule was ended by an 18-day street revolt. Since then, Egyptian workers have been testing the bounds of their new freedom with strikes.

On Sunday, the military suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament, but it has promised to oversee a six-month transition to democratic rule. It urged strikers to return to work but stopped short of ordering them to do so.
"The Supreme Council is aware of the economic and social circumstances society is undergoing, but these issues cannot be resolved before the strikes and sit-ins end," state news agency MENA quoted the military as saying.
"The result of that will be disastrous."
The constitutional panel got straight down to work.

"The armed forces want to hand over power as soon as possible. They want amendments to the constitution," said panel member Sobhi Saleh, a lawyer and former lawmaker from Islamist opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood.
"We are revising the constitution to remove all restrictions and obstacles, and to meet the aspirations of the revolution's and the people's demands."

The committee is headed by Tareq al-Bishri, a respected former head of Egypt's administrative court.
Egypt's protest movement, inspired by the ouster of Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, has in turn triggered anti-government demonstrations around the Middle East, including Algeria, Bahrain, Yemen and Iran.
Obama called on Western allies in the region to open up to their peoples.

He contrasted developments in Egypt with those in Iran, where the authorities crushed a wave of mass protests in 2009 and reacted furiously to opposition attempts to revive them on Monday.
"We have sent a strong message to our allies in the region saying let's look at Egypt's example, as opposed to Iran's example," he said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, banned but broadly tolerated under Mubarak, confirmed that it planned to form an official political party to contest promised parliamentary elections.

The opposition group has triggered concerns in the West and among some of its secular rivals, who fear it may come to power through free elections only to then implement Islamic law in the most populous Arab country.
But Brotherhood leaders insist it supports the broader demands of the pro-democracy protesters and seeks a more open multi-party system.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, saying the economy had been "severely affected", called for international aid.
At the height of the revolt Egypt was haemorrhaging more than $300 million a day, according to the Egyptian unit of French bank Credit Agricole, which lowered a growth forecast for 2011 from 5.3 percent to 3.7 percent.
In a boost for the vital tourism sector, Britain, Denmark and Sweden all eased their travel warnings regarding Egypt.