New Egyptian PM urges protesters' patience

Kamal Ganzouri asks protesters in Tahrir Square for two-month grace period; warns clashes impeding new cabinet's work, promises activists voice in gov't

Elior Levy|Published: 11.26.11 , 11:26

Newly appointed Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri called on the protesters in Tahrir Square to give him a chance to meet their demands.

The London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat reported on Saturday that Ganzouri – who was named Cairo's new prime minister following the resignation of PM Essam Sharaf's cabinet – urged the activists to give him a two-month grace period.

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Ganzouri told the newspaper that the violent clashes in Cairo were only impeding the new government's mission.

He said that the new cabinet's scope of jurisdiction, afforded by the Military Council, was "unprecedented," and vowed "to include as many of the activists' representatives as possible in the government."

NTD report on Ganzouri's appointment

Ganzouri refused to confirm whether his government will include all of the factions in Egypt's political spectrum.

Thousands have been gathered in Tahrir Square since Friday. Hundreds of protesters marched on the parliament building on Saturday, in an attempt to prevent Ganzouri's entrance. Egyptian security forces employed crowd-control measures to disperse them.

Cairo medical officials said that one demonstrator was killed. Witnesses said that the protester was killed when an army vehicle ran over him early Saturday.

More than 40 people have been killed across the country in eight days of protests demanding the end of military rule.

On Tuesday Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), addressed the Egyptian nation and vowed to transfer power to the Egyptian government – as soon as such a government was elected in July of 2012.

Throughout the speech, the masses in Tahrir Square called for Tantawi to step down immediately.

Meanwhile, a rally supporting the military rule in Cairo was held in the Egyptian capital on Friday under the banner "Egypt will not be ruled by Tahrir Square."

Nevertheless, these protesters also called on the Military Council to push up the parliamentary elections.