"Such expression should not be violent or threatening but it should be a recognised principle," he told reporters. Ban had wanted to go to Tahrir Square "to get a first-hand flavour of the scene of the Egyptian revolution," said UN spokesman Farhan Haq. The square was the scene of the now legendary protests that led to the overthrow of strongman Hosni Mubarak in February. But the protesters had been waiting for him as his cavalcade arrived at the gates to the Arab League, right next to the square. The angry crowd surged again as Ban, and several top officials including Michelle Bachelet, the former Chilean president who now heads the UN Women agency, stepped out into the steamy heat of the square. Ban started the day in a meeting with Egyptian political, women's and religious groups who asked for help "strengthening Egypt's democratic standards," Haq said. In talks with Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, Ban made a similar offer to use UN expertise to benefit the political process. Ban also went to visit Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that took over from Mubarak, to urge the organisation of elections as soon as possible.