Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak clung to power on Saturday as protesters took to the streets again to demand that he quit.
Mubarak ordered troops and tanks into the capital Cairo and other cities overnight and imposed a curfew in an attempt to quell demonstrations that have shaken the Arab world’s most populous nation, a key United States ally, to the core.
Government buildings, including the ruling party headquarters, were still blazing on Saturday morning after being set alight by demonstrators who defied the curfew.
Cairo was strewn with wreckage from a day of protests in which tens of thousands of people called for an end to Mubarak’s 30-year-rule, an unprecedented turn of events in the tightly-controlled country.
At least 24 people were killed and 1 000 wounded in clashes on Friday between the protesters and police firing rubber bullets, teargas and wielding batons, medical sources said.
Mubarak went on television on Friday night to appeal for calm and promising to address the people’s grievances. He sacked the Cabinet but made it clear he intended to stay in power.
A government spokesperson said the Cabinet would formally resign at meeting about noon (10am GMT) on Saturday and a new one was likely to be formed swiftly.
But about 2 000 demonstrators gathered in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square on Saturday to press their demands that he quit, the first clear indication that those behind the street action were not satisfied by his remarks.
“Go away, go away,” they chanted, gathering in Tahrir Square in full view of troops. “Peaceful, peaceful,” they said.
Tanks were parked on roads leading into the square. One army armoured personnel carrier had been gutted by fire. The square was strewn with rubble, burned tyres and charred wood that had been used as barricades overnight.
The demonstrators, many of then young urban poor and students, complain of repression, corruption, and economic despair under Mubarak, who has held power since the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat by Islamist soldiers.
The unrest, which follows the overthrow of Tunisian strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali two weeks ago in a popular uprising, has sent shock waves through the Middle East, where other autocratic rulers may face similar challenges.
It also poses a dilemma for the United States. Mubarak (82) has been a close ally of Washington and beneficiary of US aid for decades, justifying his autocratic rule in part by citing a danger of Islamist militancy.
Egypt plays an important role in Middle East peacemaking and was the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel.
US President Barack Obama said he had spoken to Mubarak shortly after his speech and urged him to make good on his promises of reform.
“I want to be very clear in calling upon the Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protesters,” Obama said.
US officials made clear that $1,5-billion in aid was at stake.
Army position
The deployment of army troops to back up the police showed that Mubarak still has the support of the military, the country’s most powerful force. But any change of sentiment among the generals could seal his fate.
The army’s deployment had initially been welcomed by crowds, frustrated by heavy handed police tactics. But damage to army vehicles showed that feeling swiftly wore off and protesters overnight accused the army of taking the same police line.
“What happened was a betrayal of the people … We were celebrating the army’s presence when they got to Tahrir, we let them through to take over from the dirty riot police and then we got fired at again,” said Marzouq, a protester in his 20s.
Protesters mocked Mubarak’s decision to sack his Cabinet as an empty gesture.
“It was never about the government, by God. It is you [Mubarak] who has to go! What you have done to the people is enough!” said one.
Protesters directed their rage overnight by attacking public and ministry buildings, all symbols of Mubarak’s government.
Mahmoud Mohammed Imam, a 26-year-old taxi-driver, said: “We were hoping that he was delivering a speech to tell us he was leaving.”
“All he said were empty promises and lies. He appointed a new government of thieves, one thief goes and one thief comes to loot the country.”
“This is the revolution of the people who are hungry, this is the revolution of the people who have no money against those with a lot of money.”
Anthony Skinner, associate director of political risk consultancy Maplecroft, said Mubarak’s conduct was reminiscent of that of Tunisia’s Ben Ali, who also fired his Cabinet hours before he was forced to flee.
“Mubarak is showing he is still there for now and he is trying to deflect some of the force of the process away from himself by sacking the Cabinet. We will have to see how people react but I don’t think it will be enough at all.”
Markets were hit by the uncertainty. US stocks suffered their biggest one-day loss in nearly six months, crude oil prices surged and the dollar and US Treasury debt gained as investors looked to safe havens.
Timeline
- October 6 1981: Vice-President Hosni Mubarak is thrust into office when Islamists gun down President Anwar Sadat at a military parade. He is approved as new president in a referendum in November and re-elected in October 1987 and October 1993.
- June 26 1995: Gunmen attack Mubarak’s bulletproof limousine as he arrives at an Organisation of African Unity summit in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, but is unhurt and returns home immediately. Mubarak blames a Sudanese man.
- November 17 1997: Egypt’s biggest Islamic militant group, al-Gama’a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group) kill 58 tourists and four Egyptians at an ancient temple near the southern town of Luxor. Six gunmen and three police also die.
- The state crushed groups including al-Gama’a al-Islamiya and Islamic Jihad, which targeted tourists, Christians, ministers in a 1990s campaign for a purist Islamic state, and has kept a tight lid on such groups since.
- October 5 1999: Mubarak is sworn in as president for a fourth term and names Atef Obeid as new prime minister after the government led by Kamal Ganzouri resigns.
- December 22 1999: Egypt agrees to sell its natural gas through what Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s office dubs a “Pipeline of Peace”. After years of negotiations running alongside the strains of Middle East peacemaking, Barak’s office says gas will be piped from El-Arish in Egypt to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and later to Turkey, Syria and Lebanon.
- March 2005: Street protests by the Kefaya (Enough) Movement draw hundreds across Egypt to oppose a fifth term for Mubarak or any attempt to install his son Gamal in his place.
- May 11 2005: Parliament votes to change the Constitution to allow contested presidential elections, dismissing opposition complaints that strict rules would still prevent genuine competition. A referendum later in May overwhelmingly confirms the constitutional change.
- September 27 2005: Mubarak is sworn in for a fifth consecutive term after winning the country’s first contested presidential elections. Rival Ayman Nour is the only member of Parliament to remain seated during the ceremony, apparently to show his refusal to accept the official vote count.
- December 8 2005: The Muslim Brotherhood increase their seats in Parliament after an election marred by violence, but Mubarak’s party retains a big majority. Eight people were killed on the last day of voting on December 7.
- November 19 2006: Mubarak says he will retain his responsibilities for the rest of his life.
- June 4 2009: US President Barack Obama in a speech in Cairo calls for a “new beginning” in ties between Washington and the Islamic world.
- March 26 2010: Former UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei makes a first public appearance after his return to Egypt in February. ElBaradei has said he would consider a presidential bid if demands are met, including constitutional changes to limit power.
- March 27 2010: Mubarak returns to Egypt to reassume presidential powers after three weeks recovering from gallbladder surgery in Germany.
- January 25 2011: At least four people are killed at “Day of Wrath” anti-government protests across Egypt as demonstrators voice their anger, complaining of poverty and repression.
- January 27: Security forces shoot dead a Bedouin protester in the north of Egypt’s Sinai region, bringing the death toll to five on the third day of protests.
- ElBaradei returns to Egypt from Austria. Speaking earlier in Vienna, ElBaradei says it is time for Mubarak to step aside.
- January 28: Security forces fire rubber bullets and tear gas as protesters hurl stones at them and shout “Down, Down, Hosni Mubarak!” witnesses say.
- Police blanket Cairo and block social networking communications in an effort to stifle the protests. Internet via Egyptian servers is blocked across the country, closing a key tool for activists.
- Demonstrations are also staged in other major cities including Alexandria, Mansoura, Suez and Aswan and other major urban centres. – Reuters