Egypt to lift three decades old state of emergency
January 25th, 2012 - 1:12 am ICT by IANSCairo, Jan 24 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The 30-year-long state of emergency in Egypt will be lifted from Wednesday, the head of the country’s ruling military council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, said Tuesday.
“I have made a decision to end the state of emergency starting on the morning of January 25, 2012,” Tantawi said in a televised address.
Wednesday is the first anniversary of the start of an uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
Tantawi added that the emergency law would still be applied in cases of “thuggery.”
The head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) also said the military would reassume its traditional role after the transitional period ends.
Tantawi and the SCAF that he leads took over power in Egypt after Mubarak’s government was toppled.
The state of emergency has been in place since 1981, when extremists killed president Anwar Sadat.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
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Tags: anwar sadat, armed forces, cairo, emergency law, extremists, field marshal, hosni mubarak, jan 24, military council, period ends, president anwar, president hosni mubarak, ria novosti, scaf, state of emergency, supreme council, tantawi, three decades, transitional period, uprising