Cairo clashes continue; World pressure mounts

(CBS/AP) 
CAIRO - International criticism of Egypt's military rulers mounted Wednesday as police clashed for a fifth day with protesters demanding the generals relinquish power immediately. A rights group raised the death toll for the wave of violence to at least 38.
The United Nations strongly condemned authorities for what it deemed an excessive use of force. Germany, one of Egypt's top trading partners, called for a quick transfer of power to a civilian government. The United States and the U.N. secretary general have already expressed their concern over the use of violence against mostly peaceful protesters.

Navi Pillay, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, deplored the role of Egypt's security forces in attempting to suppress protesters.
"Some of the images coming out of Tahrir, including the brutal beating of already subdued protesters, are deeply shocking, as are the reports of unarmed protesters being shot in the head," Pillay said. "There should be a prompt, impartial and independent investigation, and accountability for those found responsible for the abuses that have taken place should be ensured."

She said the actions of the military and police are enflaming the situation, prompting more people to join the protests.
"The more they see fellow protesters being carted away in ambulances, the more determined and energized they become."
Clashes resumed for a fifth day despite a promise by the head of the ruling military council on Tuesday to speed up a presidential election to the first half of next year, a concession swiftly rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square. The military previously floated late next year or early 2013 as the likely date for the vote, the last step in the process of transferring power to a civilian government.

 "No one in the square really considers anything that the military suggested yesterday as a concession. We have a very clear demand, which is that the military steps down ... immediately," Khalid Abdalla, an activist and actor, told "The Early Show" Wednesday. "It is unacceptable that the military tries to be above the law, above its citizens, above the constitution, that it tortures, that kills. We do not recognize their authority anymore, and we're asking them to leave immediately."
The clashes are the longest spate of uninterrupted violence since the 18-day uprising that toppled the former regime in February.
The standoff at Tahrir and in other major cities such as Alexandria and Assiut has deepened the country's economic and security crisis less than a week before the first parliamentary elections since the ouster of longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak.
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi tried to defuse tensions with his address late Tuesday, but he did not set a date for handing authority to a civilian government.