Hundreds of Egyptians demonstrated in the Cairo neighborhood of Abbasseya on Friday in support of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the appointment of Kamal al-Ganzouri as the new prime minister of what the military council is calling a national salvation government.
Thousands gathered in Abbasseya Square near the Defense Ministry to support "stability and the legitimacy of the SCAF to run [Egypt] during the transitional period, until the handover of power to an elected civilian president through transparent elections,” according to a report by state-run news agency MENA.
Demonstrators collected signatures of Egyptians who want to see the SCAF remain in power until a civilian government is elected.
They warned of divisions within the population and called on the media to not create strife and represent all points of view. They also harshly criticized Tahrir protesters and presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei, accusing them of following a foreign agenda.
Dozens of protesters raised banners supporting former chief of General Intelligence Omar Suleiman for president.
They chanted slogans in favor of the military, such as "Do not worry about the one million, 85 million support you," in reference to the demonstrations that have been staged recently in Tahrir Square against continued military rule.
The Abbasseya demonstrators do not represent the Egyptian people, said Egyptian columnist and political science professor Hassan Nafaa in Al-Ahram newspaper's online portal.
Nafaa considers the demonstrators to be “anti-revolutionaries and remnants of the former regime.”
Similar protests took place in the same square last Friday, organized by a group calling itself the Silent Majority. Members of the group want the SCAF to remain in power for the remainder of Egypt's transitional period.
The Silent Majority group comprises seven movements, including Voice of the Silent Majority, I Am an Egyptian, Egypt's Women First, the Future of Egypt and the Peace and Stability Movement.
