Strikes and demonstrations are planned to
protest against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, a committee of
generals which took over the reins of power when Mr Mubarak was forced
to resign on
11 Feb last year.
Chaired by Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein
Tantawi - an old ally of the former president - the council has been
accused of being as repressive as the regime it replaced.
Hundreds demonstrated outside the defence ministry in Cairo after Friday prayers yesterday, chanting: "Down with military rule".
Last January, Asmaa Mahfouz, a young
opposition activist, recorded a Youtube video that helped inspire
Egyptians to rise up against Mr Mubarak.
"Maybe we can have freedom, justice, honour
and human dignity," she said. "I, a girl, am going down to Tahrir
Square and I will stand alone and I'll hold up a banner."
She urged other Egyptians to join her and
"demand our human rights, our fundamental human rights", adding: "This
entire government is corrupt - a corrupt president and corrupt security
forces."
Less than a month after Ms Mahfouz posted this video on 18 Jan, mass protests had swept away Mr Mubarak.
Yesterday, however, Ms Mahfouz, now 27, was marching again, this time against the ruling generals.
The April 6 youth movement, which first
emerged in opposition to Mr Mubarak, issued a statement calling for
strikes against the military regime. The group urged Egyptians "to
support these strikes in order to end the unjust rule and build a nation
in which justice, freedom and dignity prevail".
The generals oversaw parliamentary
elections last year, which were won by hardline Islamist parties. They
have promised to hand over power when a new president is chosen.
However, there is no clear timetable laying
down when this will happen. Before presidential elections can be held, a
new constitution must first be drafted and approved by a referendum. In
the meantime, demonstrations against the generals have frequently been
suppressed by security forces.
