Egyptian masses rally on Feb. 1 in the millions to demand the resignation of the U.S.-backed neo-colonial regime of Hosni Mubarak. The protests are increasingly anti-imperialist in character.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Violence erupts in Alexandria shortly after Egyptian president's
announcement that he will not seek another term
Al Jazeera Online Producer
Last Modified: 02 Feb 2011 03:24 GMT
Mubarak's televised announcement came after eight days of
unprecedented nationwide protests
CAIRO, EGYPT - Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, has announced in a televised address that he will not run for re-election but refused to step down from office - the central demand of millions of
protesters who have demonstrated across Egypt over the past week.
His announcement follows a week of protests, in which millions of
people have taken to the streets in Cairo and elsewhere.
Mubarak seemed largely unfazed by the protests during his recorded
address, which aired at 11pm local time on Tuesday.
Shortly after his speech, clashes broke out between pro-Mubarak and
anti-government protesters in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Al
Jazeera's correspondent reported.
Rock-throwing youths at the city's Mahatit Masr Square scattered as
automatic gunfire rang out and a tank advanced towards them before
halting and then withdrawing. There was no sign of any casualties.
Mubarak's words were unlikely to carry much weight with the protesters at Cairo's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square: they resumed their "Leave, Mubarak!" chant shortly after his speech, and added a few new slogans, like "we won't leave tomorrow, we won't leave Thursday ..."
Mubarak mentioned the protests at the beginning of his speech, and
said that "the young people" have the right to peaceful
demonstrations.
But his tone quickly turned accusatory, saying the protesters had been
"taken advantage of" by people trying to "undermine the government".
Until now officials had indicated Mubarak, 82, was likely to run for a
sixth six-year term of office. But in his address on Tuesday, Mubarak
said he never intended to run for re-election.
"I will use the remaining months of my term in office to fill the
people's demands," he said.
That would leave Mubarak in charge of overseeing a transitional
government until the next presidential election, currently scheduled
for September.
Economy and jobs
Mubarak promised reforms to the constitution, particularly Article 76,
which makes it virtually impossible for independent candidates to run
for office. And he said his government would focus on improving the
economy and providing jobs.
"My new government will be responsive to the needs of young people,"
he said. "It will fulfil those legitimate demands and help the return
of stability and security."
Mubarak also made a point of saying that he would "die in this land" -
a message to protesters that he did not plan to flee into exile like
recently deposed Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said: "It is
clear that President Mubarak is in denial over his legacy.
"Until Friday we are probably going to watch a major escalation of
tension in events both between the demonstrators on the one hand and the regime of Mubarak on the other."
Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian opposition figure who returned to
Cairo to take part in the protests, said Mubarak's pledge not to stand
again for the presidency was an act of deception.
ElBaradei, a Nobel peace prize winner as head of the UN nuclear
agency, said if Mubarak did not heed the call to leave power at once,
he would be "not only a lame-duck president but a dead man walking".
"He's unfortunately going to extend the agony here for another six,
seven months. He continues to polarise the country. He continues to
get people even more angry and could [resort] to violence," ElBaradei
said.
Indeed, none of the protesters interviewed by Al Jazeera earlier today
said they would accept Mubarak finishing his term in office.
"He needs to leave now," Hassan Moussa said in Tahrir Square just
hours before Mubarak's announcement.
"We won't accept him leaving in September, or handing power to [newly installed vice-president] Omar Suleiman. He needs to leave now."
Waiting game
The protests continue to feel like a waiting game - as if Mubarak is
hoping to simply outlast the crowds amassed at Tahrir Square.
"When the people of a nation decide something, then it will happen,"
Abdullah Said Ahmed, a student from Al-Azhar University, said. "The
United States chooses its leaders. We're going to choose ours. Our
patience can do anything."
Saber Shanan said: "I'll stay here until I die or until the system changes."
Mubarak's announcement came after pressure from the US administration, which urged him not to seek re-election.
Frank Wisner, a former ambassador to Egypt, met Mubarak on Monday and reportedly told him not to extend his time in office.
In remarks to the media at the White House on Tuesday evening, Barack Obama, the US president, said he had spoken with Mubarak who he said "recognises that the status quo is not sustainable and a change must take place".
Obama said he told Mubarak that an orderly transition must be
meaningful and peaceful, must begin now and must include opposition
parties.
Obama emphasised, however, that "it is not the role of any other
country to determine Egypt's leaders".
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mona Eltahawy, a US-based Human Rights
activist and Newspaper columnist said that, "The Obama administration has been completely outpaced by what is happening in Egypt. They just do not understand the amount of rage and hatred for Mubarak in Egypt.
"Because for so long, they have sided with this dictator against his
own people."
"This is the defining moment now, and we need to hear from the US
administration, 'Mubarik must go'. Anything short of that will reflect
that they, like Muabarak, are completely out of touch with what is
happening," she added.
"The courageous Egyptian revolution is telling the world essentially,
that it is time to side with the people," Eltahawy said.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Tahrir Square's historic past
Cairo's Tahrir Square has become the epicentre of the uprising against
the embattled government of Hosni Mubarak.
Last Modified: 01 Feb 2011 11:17 GMT
Tahrir Square has been the traditional site for many major protests
over the years
Cairo's Tahrir Square, which has become, perhaps fittingly, the
epicentre of the popular uprising in Egypt, is the site of choice for
Egyptians to register discontent. The square is witnessing yet another
revolt as thousands of angry Egyptians gather, almost on daily basis,
demanding the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled over
Egypt for the past 30 years.
The tryst with revolution is not new to Tahrir, which means
'liberation' in Arabic. Many glorious chapters of Egyptian history has
been written there and epitaphs of the dethroned rulers and conquered
foreign invaders have been inscribed there as well.
Not only in the historical past, but the Square has been one of the
top trending terms on Google as the uprising and anger reached fever
pitch.
Deciphering the history and architectural past of this glorious place
is part history lesson, part heroic tale and part pure Egyptian.
According to some sources, the area, on which the square is located,
has been historically significant to Cairo since 13th century. But it
took its current shape only in late 19th century. Coincidently, the
square owes its design to another Mubarak: Ali Pasha Mubarak – Egypt's public works minister in the 1860s. Egypt's then ruler, Ismail Pasha, handed over the task of modelling Cairo after Paris to that Mubarak, and thus the square was born.
Originally it was called Maidan Ismailia - after the 19th-century
ruler Khedive Ismail who commissioned the new downtown district's
design.
It was renamed Maidan al-Tahrir or Liberation Square in 1954 after the
1952 Egyptian revolution - turning Egypt from a constitutional
monarchy into a republic.
A statue of the president Abd al-Nasser was to be placed in the middle
of the Square, a plan which was halted after Egypt’s humiliating
defeat against the Israelis in 1967 (Six Day War).
'Most important plaza'
Tahrir Square has been the traditional site for many major protests
and demonstrations over the years, including the 1977 bread riots.
More recently, hundreds and thousands of people protesting the war
against Iraq also gathered there. In fact, many Egyptian watchers say,
if you come to the square you instantly come in the national news.
The essence of Tahrir Square is very well put by an Egyptian writer
Samir Raafat. He wrote in the Cairo Times: "Maidan al-Tahrir cannot
sit still. Whether reflecting the city's moods or the leadership's
political agenda, the nation's most important plaza has gone from faux
Champs de Mars to Stalinesque esplanade. Whenever a new regime feels the nation's capital needs a new look, the Midan has been the place to start."
Source: Al Jazeera
Politics pervade Cairo's streets
Egyptians air different views on their hopes for the future but all of
them agree it is time for Mubarak to go
Al Jazeera's Online Producer
Last Modified: 01 Feb 2011 21:59 GMT
CAIRO, EGYPT - Tuesday was billed as a game-changer, the day of a
"Million March" that would swell the crowd in Tahrir Square, along
with its spirits, as protesters promised a decisive action that would
deliver the message to Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, that no
concession aside from his abdication would satisfy Egypt’s widespread
unrest.
Final estimates of the size varied widely, but it was probably the
largest demonstration modern Cairo has ever seen, and the message from Tahrir echoed clearly from the chants of the enormous crowd: "He's going, we're not going."
Throughout the morning, the Egyptian army fulfilled its promise to
protect the civilian populace, providing an outer cordon of security
and ushering demonstrators through barbed wire and concrete barriers
with little or no resistance.
But it was often ordinary citizens - the protesters themselves - who
performed the most stringent security checks, patting down young men, checking ID cards, and ushering away those who seemed to be a threat.
Inside, the atmosphere was jovial, and there was a palpable buzz in
the crowd. The army had already promised not to use force against
unarmed civilians, and there was little concern among the
demonstrators that other security forces would attack. Though police
had reportedly deployed again throughout the city, they were nowhere
to be seen in the vicinity of Tahrir.
So protesters were free to wave signs, deliver impromptu speeches,
chant slogans, and hold forth on politics. They sang the Egyptian
national anthem, “My country, my country," in unison several times.
"Our requirement now, it is to do a power-sharing with all the people
in Egypt,” said Said Mustafa. “The Muslim Brotherhood, al-Wafd,
ElBaradei, all the people sharing in this, with the army."
Talking politics
It was a slightly surreal experience, talking politics with Egyptians
in the middle of Tahrir Square, a place that - until a week ago - was
the heart of Egypt’s authoritarian government. The hulking Mogamma
building, an edifice that has long symbolised all that was corrupt and
dysfunctional in Egypt's bureaucracy, looms always in Tahrir's
background.
But there was none of the reluctance that once characterised political
conversations; all of them were eager to share their views. In the
streets surrounding the Mogamma, burned out cars sat like carcasses.
Several young men lounged inside one, snacking on pastries.
On a side street near the old American University in Cairo, Nawal
el-Saadawy, a well-known human rights activist, engaged in informal
debates and talks with the crowd that had gathered around her.
Mohammed Abdelrady, who said he belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood, pursued Saadawy doggedly, questioning her thinking on the role of religion in life. Abdelrady argued that Egyptians have been a
thoroughly religious people for thousands of years, since the time of
the Pharaohs, and that while he and Saadawy likely agreed about much, she was pressing for too many "religious freedoms" and pushing women's rights too hard for Egyptian society.
Saadawy, after taking the man's number and before being ushered away by the group accompanying her, pointed out to Abdelrady that the constitution makes all Egyptians equal, regardless of sex or sect.
One group of men in Tahrir debated whether prominent families - like
the billionaire Sawiris clan, which controls Orascom Telecom - would
support a new government or stand with Mubarak. Several talked about Gamal Mubarak, the president's son, wondering what his future role would be.
All of them agreed, though, that it was time for Mubarak to go.
"Thirty years he's been with us. Enough!" said Abu Hassan, an elderly
man sitting in the center of the square who waved a reporter over to
chat. “Nasser died. Sadat died. And we had this president for 30
years? Enough."
Anger
Anger at the United States and Israel - seen as Mubarak's two
staunchest allies - was palpable. Dozens of people held signs
criticising the US for backing the president, and one demonstrator
carried a "leave, Mubarak" sign written in Hebrew. "It's a message for
Netanyahu," he said, referring to the Israeli prime minister. Another
protester held a sign that said, "I hate Mubarak and I hate Israel."
Several protesters blamed the current government for stoking sectarian
unrest in Egypt, which has seen several ghastly acts of communal
violence in recent months – the bombing of a Coptic church in
Alexandria earlier this month, and a drive-by shooting outside a
church in Nag Hammadi last year.
Tuesday's protest was an antidote of sorts to those tensions:
Egyptians from all walks of life – Muslims and Christians, some
devoutly religious, others not – chanting the same slogans."The
Egyptian government has created these tensions," said Mustafa Haddad. "There never used to be problems between Muslims and Christians, Christians and Muslims. There is no conflict within the sha'ab [the Egyptian people]."
Egyptian state television, meanwhile, took a slightly softer line on
the rallies, which it had ignored up until last night. It still tried
to minimise them, showing grainy out-of-focus shots of Tahrir Square
and pictures of side streets which held only a handful of
demonstrators. But several state-owned networks sent reporters to
Tahrir Square, and they described the protest as peaceful, praising
the army's role in providing security.
The rest of their coverage focused on the new government, which has
been widely scorned by protesters across the country. One channel
carried an interview with the new prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq,
talking about the new government's priorities; and a story about
Mahmoud Wagdy, the new interior minister, announcing his "Police
Serving the People" programme.
Outside, chants of "No Mubarak, No Suleiman, No Shafiq" echoed across Tahrir Square, and several demonstrators held signs comparing the police to terrorists.
By evening, the crowd had thinned somewhat, but the rally will
continue into the night, with many demonstrators pitching tents and
starting campfires to keep warm. Mubarak's announcement tonight, in
which it's anticipated he will announce his intent not to run again
for president, is unlikely to satisfy them.
Source: Al Jazeera
Signal disruptions hit Al Jazeera
Broadcast on Nilesat, Arabsat and Hotbird platforms facing
interference on scale not experienced before, channel says
Last Modified: 01 Feb 2011 19:46 GMT
Over the past week Al Jazeera has faced multiple attempts to disrupt
its coverage of the protests in Egypt
Al Jazeera has said its broadcast signal across the Arab region is
facing interference on a scale it has not experienced before.
Signals on Egypt's Nilesat platform were cut, and frequencies on the
Arabsat and satellite Hotbird platforms were disrupted continually,
forcing millions of viewers across the Arab world to change satellite
frequencies throughout Tuesday.
The latest disruption came on the day of the historic "million man
march" in Egypt.
"We have been working round the clock to make sure we are broadcasting on alternative frequencies. Clearly there are powers that do not want our important images pushing for democracy and reform to be seen by the public," a spokesman for Al Jazeera, based in Qatar, said.
"We appreciate the extraordinary support from the ten channels across
the region who interrupted their own programming to live-broadcast our
signal to their audiences."
Al Jazeera has been widely praised for its coverage from Egypt and
Tunisia despite obstacles put in their path by those governments.
Not only have its images and reporting been enthusiastically received
by people in the Middle East, but there has been a massive surge in
interest in Al Jazeera's coverage from across the world.
Over the past week the channel has faced multiple attempts to disrupt
its coverage from Egypt, with signals being interfered with on a
continual basis, and journalists being banned and detained.
Source: Al Jazeera
Turkish PM backs Egypt protesters
Erdogan urges Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to "lend an ear to the people's cries" and herald a new era of reform
Last Modified: 01 Feb 2011 12:09 GMT
Turkey has finally broken its silence over the Egyptian crisis after
major newspapers criticised the government for its inexplicable
silence on the issue.
Addressing members of his AKP party in parliament, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, has thrown his weight completely
behind the protesters in Egypt.
Erdogan appealed to Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president: "You have to listen to the wishes of the people in order to create security and stability. First you must take steps that are good for Egypt. You must take steps that satisfy the people."
Erdogan said on Tuesday that he was putting off a visit to the
Egyptian capital of Cairo next week, but would go once Egypt returns
to normal.
Turkey is hailed as the only democratic country in the Muslim world.
'Reforms needed'
Erdogan called for anti-government protesters to refrain from violence
and protect the country's cultural heritage. "Everyone has the right
to fight for freedom, but without violence,” said the Turkish PM.
"You must not forget that the people who oppose you are still human,
still your brothers."
He also talked about political reforms in the Middle East. “Our
greatest wish in Egypt and Tunisia is that reforms are implemented as
soon as possible, but also that peace and security are established,”
said Erdogan.
He also underlined Turkey’s priorities towards supporting democratic
cause. He said: "I spoke to president Barack Obama. He found it
important to hear Turkey's view as a democratic country in the
region."
Iran sees 'Islamic Middle East'
Also supporting Egyptian protesters is the government of Iran.
Ali Akbar Salehi, the Foreign Minister, said Iran will offer its
support to the protesters in Egypt.
"On our part we are going along with the freedom seekers of the world
and support the uprising of the great nation of Egypt. We sympathise
with those injured and killed" in the protests, he said.
Iran said on Tuesday the uprising in Egypt will help create an Islamic
Middle East but accused US officials of interfering in the "freedom
seeking" movement which has rocked the Arab nation.
Salehi, who was officially endorsed by the Iranian parliament on
Sunday as foreign minister, said the uprising in Egypt "showed the
need for a change in the region and the end of unpopular regimes."
"The people of Tunisia and Egypt prove that the time of controlling
regimes by world arrogance (the West) has ended and people are trying to have their own self-determination," said Salehi, who also oversees Iran's controversial nuclear programme.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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