They also announced that they will run the country for six months, while new Constitutional provisions are adopted to allow for popular voting on Constitutional amendments and electing new Parliament and President. Cabinet ministers now report directly to the military council. They also reiterated that they will abide by all international treaties.
These sound like the right steps -- but it does require faith in the military leaders' good will and real commitment to bringing democracy as soon as practical.
CNN reports:
However, a leading opposition figure said Sunday that the military must explain its plans in more detail or see a resumption of the demonstrations that drove Mubarak from office."They need to come out of their headquarters and start talking to the people and tell us what is in store for us," ElBaradei told [Fareed Zakaria's] GPS.
And a prominent Egyptian activist credited with helping spark the revolution warned against taking too long to establish a new representative government.
"Biggest mistake now is to give the Egyptian people too little too slow. Restoring confidence requires a faster pace," Wael Ghonim said on Twitter.
This is probably a wise strategy: don't let the military -- the actual governing body for the next few months -- get complacent; keep reminding them of the power of peaceful protest.
The military council has a huge, tough job. In addition to helping to establish a new democratic government, in the interim they have to address the severe economic and unemployment problems that face the country. And do it all with an expediency that is prudent and also keeps the people from feeling their demands are not being heard.
Ralph
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