Egypt to rename streets after ‘martyrs' CAIRO: British Prime Minister David Cameron Monday became the first foreign leader to visit Egypt since the downfall of Hosni Mubarak which electrified the Middle East and forced the West to rethink its policies in the region. Cameron's arrival came hot on the heels of a visit by William J. Burns, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, who started a visit to Egypt in which he will meet with the army-led interim government as well as political groups. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is due to arrive in Egypt Tuesday to discuss the post-Mubarak era in which the army is running the country while setting up free elections to deliver civilian rule and democracy. US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns arrived Monday to take stock of the situation in Egypt 10 days after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, the US embassy in Cairo said. Besides meeting leaders of Egypt's interim military-led administration, the Arabic-speaking veteran diplomat is to see representatives of civil society, the embassy said. In announcing his visit last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States would offer Egypt — already a big recipient of US aid — some $150 million to help its political and economic transition. The Muslim Brotherhood, once banned and playing a growing role in the new Egypt, rejected a government reshuffle Monday, calling for a purge of the old guard cabinet appointed by Mubarak. “I think this is a great opportunity to talk to those currently running Egypt to make sure this really is a genuine transition from military rule to civilian rule,” the British prime minister said before arriving in Cairo. A British official travelling with Cameron said he would meet members of the former opposition to Mubarak but not the Brotherhood, which is Egypt's most organised political grouping and regarded with suspicion in the West. In a bid to placate pro-democracy activists, the reshuffle late Sunday named several Mubarak opponents but disappointed those eager for a new line-up as key defence, foreign, justice, interior and finance portfolios were left unchanged. Egypt's new military rulers, who took over after an 18-day uprising ended 30 years of Mubarak's iron rule, have said change in the constitution for elections in six months should be ready soon and hated emergency laws would be lifted before the polls. But for many democracy advocates, who want a completely new cabinet with no links to Mubarak's corrupt and autocratic elite to govern the Arab world's most populous nation, the military needs to put fresh faces in office. “No one offered us any post and had they done so, we would have refused because we request what the public demands that this government quit as it is part of the former regime,” said Essam El-Erian, a senior member of the Brotherhood. “We want a new technocratic government that has no connection with the old era,” he told Reuters. The Brotherhood, which says it wants a democracy wih Islamic principles, is represented on a constitutional change committee, a council to protect the revolution and will register as soon as new rules allow. Uncertainty remains over how much influence Egypt's military will seek to exert in reshaping a ruling system which it has propped up for six decades, with diplomats saying it is vital to “create an open political space”. Wary of a clampdown, the Brotherhood took a cautious line early in the protests but has slowly assumed a more prominent role. The military Monday announced an amnesty for weapons stolen during the revolution and there were pockets of protests in and around Cairo over pay and conditions despite an order aimed at ending strikes and protests damaging the economy. Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq Monday ordered that streets be renamed to honour “martyrs” who died during the mass protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Shafiq asked provincial governors to rename streets where the protesters had lived, state news agency MENA reported. The army-led administration reshuffled the cabinet on Sunday to include several opponents of Mubarak. Activists who led the demonstrations are demanding the dismissal of all the ministers he appointed.
