Mubarak must resign, 50 NGOs say

2011-02-01 12:12

Cairo - Fifty Egyptian human rights groups on Tuesday called on President Hosni Mubarak to "step down to avoid bloodshed", on the eighth day of anti-government protests that have left at least 125 people dead.

In a statement, the rights groups call for "parliamentary and presidential elections to be held within six months under the supervision of the judiciary".

Among the statement's signatories are Egypt's main human rights groups, including the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Centre for Economic and Social Rights and the Arab Centre for the Independence of the Judiciary.

The groups also called for "a new constitution formulated by a commission representing all parties and political groups as well as civil society."

The appeal comes as Egypt prepares on Tuesday for what organisers hope will swell into a rally of at least one million people, despite President Hosni Mubarak's efforts to appease protesters by appointing a new government and promising dialogue with the opposition.

In central Cairo's Tahrir square, a focal point for eight days of protests, demonstrators held up a sign listing their goals.

"The uprising's demands: the immediate end to Mubarak's rule; the trial of Habib al-Adly (former interior minister); the establishment of a commission to amend the constitution; the dissolution of parliament and the formation of a transitional national salvation government."

- AFP