Egypt to hold another march of millions

Egyptian opposition activists have called for another million-man march on Friday to pressure interim Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq to step down.

The call comes as a military tribunal has sentenced a man who took part in last Friday’s anti-government protests to 5 years in prison.

An Egyptian rights organization says the man was convicted and sentenced in an unfair trial, which only took five minutes.

Thousands of Egyptians protested in downtown Cairo last Friday, demanding that the government be purged of all remnants of ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

Since Mubarak’s ouster on February 11, Egyptians have called on the ruling military to hand over power to a civilian government elected by the people. They have also urged the release of all political detainees and the disbandment of military courts.

Two senior members of Egypt’s opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, were released on Wednesday, a day after a sit-in in front of the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Meanwhile, a new constitution which has undergone 10 major changes is planned to be put to a referendum on March 19.

The popular revolution in Egypt has concerned the US and Israel, whose unshakeable support for Mubarak’s regime was always taken for granted and with the rise of Islamic groups in Egypt see their interests at stake.