EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak said last night that he would serve out the remainder of his term but would not stand in the next election, instantly drawing the wrath of protesters demanding that he quit now.
Mr Mubarak made the comments in a televised address after a million Egyptians had marched against him demanding an end to end his authoritarian rule. He insisted he would die on Egyptian soil, refusing to follow the path of Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali who fled to Saudi Arabia after mass public protests, which inspired Egyptians to take action. “This is my country. This is where I lived, I fought and defended its land, sovereignty and interests, and I will die on its soil,” he said.
The Obama administration had intervened directly in the crisis. Influential Democratic senator John Kerry had asked President Mubarak to stand down, permit the establishment of a caretaker government and ensure free and fair elections. He also made it clear that Washington would not welcome a military regime.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton had called upon Mr Mubarak to ensure an orderly transition to democracy from his 30-year autocratic rule.
Former US ambassador to Cairo Frank Wisner reportedly held a tense meeting with Mr Mubarak, an old friend, while current envoy Margaret Scobey met Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who is emerging as a possible mediator between the regime and the people as well as a potential transitional leader.
However, Mr ElBaradei, who has spent most of his life abroad, does not command much support among Egyptians.
The country’s opposition parties met during yesterday morning and agreed unanimously not to negotiate with Mr Mubarak’s regime unless four conditions were agreed. Mounir Abdel Nour, secretary general of the secular Wafd Party said it decided that Mr Mubarak had lost legitimacy and demanded that he must go. “A national unity government must be formed, both houses of parliament must be dissolved and a new constitution must be drafted”.
He continued: “All four conditions must be accepted, they are not negotiable. Mr Mubarak must stand down before negotiations can begin.” Mr Abdel Nour said, however, that “the youth who have organised the mass demonstrations across the country must also agree to these conditions”. He added: “The protests have been so spontaneous that it has been difficult to find out the leaders. But we are getting there.”
Following the conclusion of that meeting, opposition leaders went to Tahrir (Liberation) Square to join the monumental protest dubbed “Rally Day”, which brought on to the streets as many as a million people in Cairo and many hundreds of thousands in Egypt’s other cities. It is expected that shifts of protesters will remain in Tahrir Square until Mr Mubarak steps down. In the meantime, Egypt will remain under siege, without a functioning government, banks and courts will be closed, the stock exchange will remain shut tight.
While the opposition is trying to create a role for itself in the revolution, mounted by the youth of Tahrir and Egyptian civil society, these parties have been marginalised by the rolling protests, dubbed Egypt’s second revolution.
The leaders of all these parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, have compromised themselves and their parties by co-operating with the Mubarak regime for decades.
Furthermore, the National Democratic Party, which has ruled the country since the mid-1970s, has been destroyed by the Tahrir protests that are taking place in the shadow of the burnt and still smouldering multi-storied ruin of the party’s headquarters.
Egyptians now face the daunting prospect of rebuilding their country’s political life from the ground up and filling a yawning political vacuum with viable and relevant political parties and institutions.
A solid foundation for this new order could be laid by civil society organisations which have stood up to the regime and have been taking part in the demonstrations. These organisation have condemned the brutal attacks on protesters that took place before the regime withdrew the internal security forces and police from the streets last weekend.
Ghada Shahbender of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights said that 50 civil rights bodies had called upon Mr Mubarak to put on trial ex-interior minister Habib al-Adly for ordering attacks on protesters and for releasing hundreds of prisoners from Egypt’s jails. This has produced a wave of looting, car jackings, and attacks on civilians that compelled citizens to establish neighbourhood watch committees to protect their localities.
Last night the thousands of protesters who remained in Tahrir Square were treated to concerts by a number of popular bands and musicians.
These were organised to keep the spirits of the demonstrators high in spite of threats of violence and intimidation by the regime, Ms Shahbender said. – (additional reporting by Reuters)
