Egyptians gathered at Tahrir Square in Cairo to commemorate the first anniversary of the uprising that ended in the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Tahrir Square is the main venue for tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding political and economic reforms inspired by the Tunisian protests. The daily demonstrations began on January 25 and continued for 18 days through deadly clashes with security forces and ended when Mubarak handed over power to a military council.
The demonstrators are now demanding that the military resign and be replaced by a civilian government. The newly elected lower house of parliament held its first meeting Monday, and the military council has promised to hand over power to the elected president by July.
The military ruler, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, said he would partially lift the country's 30-year state of emergency starting Wednesday. Human rights organizations and many countries have put pressure on Egypt to lift the state of emergency. (VOA News). *
