CAIRO - The military hoped Egyptians would heed its appeal to get back to work on Wednesday and abandon the strikes and protests that flared after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak.

Facing a rash of pent-up labor demands from groups ranging from bank staff and tour guides to policemen and steelworkers, the military has urged people not to disrupt further an economy damaged by the 18-day uprising.

"Mubarak has left, but the problems are still the same if not more," said John Sfakianakis, economist at Banque Saudi Fransi. "At this stage I would be more optimistic than last week given that you don't have hundreds of thousands on the streets."

Youth activists behind protests which toppled Mubarak asked for a meeting with the Higher Military Council, which has promised a swift handover to democracy and civilian rule, but had yet to receive a reply, a leading activist said.

The opposition want more steps from the military, including the release of political prisoners and lifting of emergency laws.

A committee, set up to amend the constitution within 10 days as a prelude to parliamentary and presidential elections in six months, is also expected to meet as the military dismantles the apparatus used to maintain Mubarak's rule. It has already dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution.

Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that it has issued a request of freezing assets and accounts of some former Egyptian officials to Egyptian embassies in the European Union, Western and Arab nations.

Ambassador Hossam Zaki, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement that the requests issued by the Attorney General aim to talk with some specific institutions in those countries to implement the assets freezing, and all the embassies of those countries in Cairo received the request too.

Reuters-Xinhua-AP