Egyptians rally for quick reforms

Thousands of Egyptians went to Cairo 's Tahrir Square Friday for a planned rally demanding more reforms, the first of its kind after the holy Ramadan month in August. They demanded a timetable for the parliamentary elections and peaceful transition of power from the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to a presidential council, Mohamed el-Kafass, a rally participant, told Xinhua at the square. Many political movements and parties, such as Freedom and Justice Party affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood and el-Wafd party, had said they would boycott the gathering. "We saw that most of the revolution demands have been met and we should give the government enough time for the other demands," Mohsen Rady, member of the Freedom and Justice Party, told the state-run Nile TV. "Most of Egyptians now do not reply to such rallies as they know it disrupts their normal life", Rady added. The demonstration came as the trials of ex-president Hosni Mubarak and his top police aides were underway. Since August, Mubarak has appeared in five sessions of his trial, but he denied all the charges against him, including murder and corruption.