Low turnout in Egypt strike on anniversary of Mubarak ousting

Feb 11, 2012, 18:30 GMT

Cairo - Only small groups of Egyptians took part Saturday in a national strike called by some opposition forces on the first anniversary of Hosny Mubarak's ousting, reflecting divisions among the people on how best to respond to the country's unpopular military rulers.

Public buses and trains were operating normally across Cairo, despite announcements by subway workers that they were staging a slowdown strike. Navigation was also normal in the Suez Canal, despite calls by activists for waterway workers to join the strike.

Public sector workers, for their part, pledged to work extra hours, signalling their disagreement with the strike, according to media reports.

The protesters, mainly university students, have called for collective acts of civil disobedience to pressure the military to speed up the transfer of power.

However, only about 200 people could be found in Tahrir Square, the scene of major anti-Mubarak protests last year. The iconic square was open to traffic and crowded with street hawkers selling tea, food, and souvenirs.

'I am on strike because Mubarak's regime is not gone, nothing has changed. Members of the (military) council are Mubarak's loyalists,' said Mohamed, a university student.

Fayza Abul-Naga, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, said that the low turnout showed that 'Egyptians from all sectors rejected the call for civil disobedience.'

Muslim and Coptic religious figures have condemned the strike, and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood group, which controls nearly half of the newly elected parliament, said it would not take part in an action that would hurt the economy.

However, undeterred activists said they would continue with the strike, adding that its effects would become visible over the next days.

Security sources said they had detained an Australian journalist and a US student accused of paying people to take part in a strike by opposition groups.

Security forces also detained their Egyptian translator, who had accompanied them on their visit to al-Mahalla al-Kubra city, north of Cairo, as well as Kamal Fayoumi, a workers' rights activist.

The journalist and his companions were asking people why they did not take part in the strike, sources said. Al-Mahalla al-Kubra was the scene of violent protests in 2008 by textile workers that later inspired a nationwide strike against price hikes.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which 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.

Activists and several political forces accuse the council of spreading chaos and inciting violence in the country to prolong its stay in power.

On Friday, the ruling military council vowed it would not bow to what it called 'threats and plots aimed at spreading 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.