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    November 19, 2011

Riot Police March Into Cairo's Tahrir Square

   VOA News
   A protester flashes a peace sign in front of Egyptian riot police
   during clashes at Tahrir Square in Cairo, November 19, 2011.
   Photo: Reuters
   A protester flashes a peace sign in front of Egyptian riot police
   during clashes at Tahrir Square in Cairo, November 19, 2011.

   Tensions are rising again in Cairo, one day after thousands of
   protesters swarmed the city's famed Tahrir Square to demand the
   military relinquish power sooner.
   Egyptian riot police marched into the square Saturday and scuffled with
   hold-outs from Friday's mass demonstration.
   Some witnesses said police beat several activists, and a cameraman with
   the Associated Press said he saw police arrest three people who refused
   to leave.
   Riot police also tore down tents and removed chairs and other items
   belonging to the protesters from the square.
   The latest demonstrations came a little more than a week before Egypt's
   first post-revolution elections.
   Friday's rally was called by the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's most
   organized political group, in reaction to a government proposal that
   critics complain is an attempt by the military to prolong its
   "temporary" powers.
   The proposal would exempt the military from civilian oversight in the
   next constitution. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or
   SCAF, says the document is not binding, an assertion many protesters
   say they do not believe.
   Egyptians are scheduled to got to the polls later this month for the
   start of parliamentary elections will stretch into March. The new
   legislature will then spend up to a year drafting a new constitution
   and only then will presidential elections be held.
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