to press their demands , starting with insisting on dismissing the government that Mubarak had appointed before he was ousted , purging the security forces and cleaning the Ministry of Interior , trying Mubarak and those responsible for the death of more than 800 peaceful protesters and the injury of thousands , and setting a clear and specific timetable for handing over power to civilians . The military council has been reluctant to respond , and when it has , it has completely emptied these demands of any meaningful effect . Indeed , it appointed a new Cabinet in March but deprived it of any effective authority . It changed the name of the state security force while maintaining its old structure and savage practices , and it reluctantly put Mubarak and some of his aides before trial , but none has been indicted , and the process has been incredibly slow . With parliamentary elections set to begin on November 28 , the military council wanted to secure its position in the transitional process and threw a wrench in the form of a draft of supra-constitutional principles that , if it were to be agreed upon by the major
Cairo -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In Cairo , where huge protests are now in their fourth day , the angry protesters in Tahrir Square are reclaiming the pro-democracy revolution they started January 25 . Since it took control of the management of the transitional process , the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces -- appointed by the former president , Hosni Mubarak -- has been following a three-sided strategy to contain and even frustrate the persistent demands for handing over power to a civilian authority and establishing an effective democratic system . The military council is breaking the revolutionary will of the protesters by arresting many and putting them in military courts -LRB- 12,000 civilians so far -RRB- ; deliberately humiliating them -LRB- torturing many and exposing female protesters to virginity tests -RRB- ; making ordinary people feel disillusioned and even hate the revolution by failing to take tough measures against anarchy and restore law and order ; and finally , encouraging fragmentation and discord among the country 's political actors . Like Mubarak , the military council has adopted the policy of `` me or anarchy . '' Over the past few months , Egyptians have used enormous demonstrations