Egypt opposition calls for strike, demands military transfer power

Feb 11, 2012, 8:50 GMT

Cairo - The Egyptian capital was relatively calm on Saturday, despite a call by the opposition for an open-ended general strike to press the country's military rulers to cede power.

Public buses and trains were operating normally across Cairo, reported state media.

State institutions pledged to work extra hours, signalling their rejection of the call for a strike, according to media reports.

The call is part of an opposition plan for collective acts of civil disobedience to push the military to speed up the transfer of power to a civilian administration.

More than 30 protest groups are supporting the plan and its start on Saturday, the first anniversary of Hosny Mubarak's stepping down as president after a popular revolt.

Muslim and Coptic clergymen have condemned the strike call. The powerful Muslim Brotherhood, who controls 47 per cent of the newly elected parliament, has said it will not take part in an action that would hurt the national economy.

The military that has been ruling Egypt since Mubarak's ouster has pledged to transfer power to a civilian administration by July. The opposition remains sceptical and wants an earlier handover.

On Friday, the ruling military council vowed it would not bow to what it called 'threats and plots aimed to spread chaos in the country.'

Over the last three days, troops and armoured vehicles have been deployed across Egypt, outside key state institutions and along main roads, in what military officials said was a plan to re-establish security in the country.