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"You have the parliament, the marshal (Tantawi) is in power and the revolutionaries are in prison," a man shouted at a Brotherhood supporter carrying the blue flag of the group's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party. The Brotherhood is the largest single bloc in the new, 508-seat parliament, which held its inaugural session on Monday. The group's supporters have mostly stayed away from recent protests demanding the military immediately step down, arguing that it was time for elections rather than street protests. But the liberal and leftist groups maintain that the revolution must continue until remnants of Mubarak's 29-year regime are removed from public life and government, and until those responsible for the killing of protesters are brought to justice. "I am not here to celebrate. I am here for a second revolution," said Attiya Mohammed Attiya, a 35-year-old father of four children who is unemployed. "The military council is made of remnants of the Mubarak regime. We will only succeed when we remove them from power," said Attiya. The Brotherhood's election win came in the nation's freest election in decades, held in stages over a six-week period starting Nov. 28. Another Islamist group, the ultraconservative Salafis, won about a quarter of the seats, while liberals and independents could only garner under 10 percent of the seats. The Brotherhood was outlawed for most of the 84 years since its inception, subjected to repeated crackdowns by successive governments. Under Mubarak, hundreds of them were jailed on trumped-up charges. "We are the political force that paid the heaviest price," said Alaa Mohammed, a teacher and Brotherhood supporter. "Thanks to the military council, we had the cleanest elections ever, and the military protected the revolution."
[Associated
Press;
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