Internet activists in Egypt discuss political reform with military

The unlikely hero of the Egypt uprising, young Google executive Wael Ghonim, along with seven others, discussed the future of political reform with the military leadership, which has been entrusted with the task of carrying out a political overhaul of the Egyptian system.

The activists, whose endeavours on the web had helped mobilise millions of Egyptians in an anti-Hosni Mubarak uprising, said they laid out their views to the caretaker government.

"We met the army ... to understand their point of view and lay out our views," Ghonim and blogger Amr Salama said in a note on a pro-democracy website that had helped launch the revolt.

They said the Supreme Military Council, which dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution yesterday, vowed to rewrite the constitution within 10 days and put it to a referendum within two months, in line with the protesters' demands for democratic change, according to Al Jazeera.

Ghonim became a national hero after his 12-day detention and an emotional appearance on television, and also addressed gatherings at the Tahrir Square.

Meanwhile, the Council is also considering to ban strikes across the country to restore order and ensure that workers go back to work. Al Jazeera quoted a military source as saying that the Council would issue an order to ban meetings by labour unions or professional syndicates, effectively forbidding strikes, and would tell all Egyptians to get back to work.

Such an order could become another flashpoint in the country which is witnessing an atmosphere of chaos.

Over 20 days of turmoil has affected the economic well-being of the country, hampering businesses and tourism.

Emboldened by the success of the mass uprising, many workers and unions across the country have taken to strikes to demand better working conditions.

Hundreds of people gathered again in Cairo's Tahrir Square today, many of them protesting against the police. Earlier in the day, protesters in the square said they had been told by the army to leave or face arrest.

Scuffles had broken out yesterday between the soldiers and some of the protesters as the Army tried to clear the Square to enable normal traffic movement.

Some protesters said they wanted more concrete steps to be taken before they withdraw their demonstration completely. But later in day, the military dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution, meeting two major demands of the protesters.

The council said it would be in charge of the government for six months or until parliamentary elections are held to decide the next government. Some protest organisers have called for a "Victory March" to be held across the country on Friday.

Former president Mubarak handed over power to the military last week forced by an unprecedented mass movement that shook not only Egypt but the entire Arab world.

The military has promised to oversee a peaceful transition to democracy and has set a September date for general elections.

Meanwhile, the media apparatus that was loyal to the Mubarak regime and glorified his 30-year rule has now indicated that it will be more attentive to the Egyptian people. Ever since Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that the 82-year-old president was stepping down, there was a drastic change in the tone of the state media.

The employees of once pro-regime Al-Ahram daily formed an emergency council to revamp the paper's coverage and its headline of the next day read, "The people ousted the regime."

For the first time since uprising, coverage of Al-Ahram provoked positive comments on facebook for its objectivity and fluent proper language instead of the usual cynicism preserved for its commentaries and lies.

Two days after the president stepped down, the state TV started referring him as Mubarak and not former president. It also featured the investigations of origin of wealth of former ministers who were at the same time practicing businessmen.