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Egypt: human tide to demand the departure of Mubarak
[Ennahar] Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians invaded the streets Tuesday for the largest mobilization in eight days of protest against geriatric President Hosni Mubarak called more than ever to leave after 30 years in power.Taking advantage of the support of the all-powerful army, which has pledged not to fire on them, men, women, children and elderly have demonstrated to demand the departure of Mr. Mubarak who seems to cling desperately to power proposing a dialogue and reforms immediately rejected. The demonstrators answered the call of the opposition to the "walk of a million" in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt's second city, after its president is blamed for all ills-poverty, unemployment, violation of freedoms, corruption and political locking. Mohamed ElBaradei, the most prominent figure of the opposition, urged Mr. Mubarak to leave "not later than Friday," declaring for a "honorable exit" of the President. Given the continuing showdown, the U.S. came in contact with both sides: a former U.S. diplomat Frank Wisner was to meet in Cairo senior regime leaders, while U.S. Ambassador Margaret Scobey spoke on the phone with Mr. ElBaradei. At the same time, they ordered the departure of nonessential personnel from its embassy in Cairo, while the protest movement, the most important since 1981, has caused since January 25 at least 300 deaths according to an unconfirmed report of UN, and thousands injured. In central Cairo, the vast Tahrir Square (Liberation Square), the epicenter of the movement, was stormed by a human tide. The atmosphere was very festive, protesters dancing and singing in jeering the Egyptian president. Posted by: Fred 2011-02-02 |
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