Egypt's military rulers said Thursday that parliamentary elections will start on schedule next week despite escalating unrest and they rejected protesters' calls for them to immediately step down.
Resigning now would amount to a "betrayal" of the people's trust after the military took over from ousted president Hosni Mubarak by popular demand, the ruling generals said.
"There will be no postponement in the election," said Maj. Gen. Mamdouh Shaheen, one of two members of the ruling military council who spoke at a televised news conference. "The election will be held on time with all of its three stages on schedule."
The comments suggested that the council led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years, has no intention of making more concessions under pressure from tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak nine months ago.
The second council member, Maj. Gen. Mukhtar el-Mallah, said stepping down immediately would be a "betrayal of the trust placed in our hands by the people." He said the throngs in Tahrir do not represent the whole of Egypt.