Egypt PM under pressure as protesters grow impatient

Egyptian protesters who carried Prime Minister Essam Sharaf on their shoulders to celebrate his appointment in March have now unleashed their full wrath on him for failing to deliver on promised change. Five months after president Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular revolt, pro-democracy activists fear their revolution is in jeopardy, and accuse the ruling military council of maintaining an absolute grip on power that blocks the democratic path. The army has insisted it will not cede control over the transition, and warned instead that the protests could harm the national interest. "The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces stresses that it will not renounce its role in managing the affairs of the country during this critical time in Egypt's history," SCAF member Mohsen al-Fangary said in a speech broadcast on state television. In a stern address, Fangary warned those who "deviate from the peaceful approach during demonstrations and sit-ins and obstruct the institutions of the state." On Monday, Sharaf announced that he would reshuffle his cabinet within a week and provincial governors within a month. He also set a July 15 deadline for the dismissal of police officers accused of killing protesters in the uprising. He also called on judges to proceed with open trials of former regime officials, in the second address in as many days. His speech was slammed by the press and by activists who have called for a mass march on Tuesday to maintain the momentum for change. "The vision is cloudy, where are we heading?" asked the state-owned Al-Gomhouria. "Tahrir calls for Sharaf's resignation" was the front page headline in the independent Al-Shorouk. When Sharaf assumed the job in March, he was widely celebrated as an ambassador of Tahrir Square. But activists say his months in office have, more than anything, revealed the powerlessness of the cabinet in the face of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which took power when Mubarak was ousted. "There are still forces which belong to the old regime that should be removed but, for the moment, the army doesn't want to do so," political analyst Hassan Nafaa told a Franco-Egyptian conference on Tuesday. "We are in a delicate transitional period. It is not clear what the future regime of Egypt will look like," he said. Fangary however insisted that Sharaf had the military council's backing, after reports of major tensions between the military and the cabinet. Furious at the military rulers' handling of the transitional phase, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Friday to pressure them to deliver promised reforms. On Saturday, Sharaf vowed to sack police officers accused of killing protesters during the uprising. A tired-looking, soft-spoken Sharaf also promised to speed up the trials of former regime officials and to look into the portfolios of health, education, salaries and pensions, in a brief address on state TV. But the speech was rejected as empty rhetoric, amid mounting calls for him to step down. "The prime minister's work is carried out in the dark, because no one knows where Essam Sharaf's role ends and where the military council's role begins," columnist Wael Qandeel wrote in Al-Shorouk on Monday. Protesters have slammed the military council for its lack of transparency, and for failing to give the cabinet its full prerogatives. "Essam Sharaf should either become a real prime minister, with free hands to manage the affairs of the country, or he can save himself and the revolution by stepping down," Qandeel said. Activists say the uprising's central demands -- which include an end to military trials of civilians, a speedy and open trial of former regime officials and police officers accused of abuse -- have been ignored. Egypt's appointment of a new minister of information on Saturday -- a controversial post which had been abolished after the uprising -- is seen as evidence of the government backtracking on pledges of reform. "If he is not able (to do the job), and is forced to accept decisions which he previously declared impossible such as the appointment of a new information minister, then it is better that he either lay down conditions (to stay at his post) or step down," political analyst Amr Hamzawy wrote in Al-Shorouk. Mubarak is currently in custody in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and is to face trial on August 3, along with his two sons Alaa and Gamal, on charges of corruption and ordering the killing of protesters. Several former ministers are currently in jail on corruption charges, but activists have repeatedly denounced the handling of legal proceedings, saying they want an open and thorough process for the sake of justice, not revenge.