President Mubarak of Egypt has resigned.
The vice president has named a military council to run the country's affairs, state television said on Friday after 18 days of mass protests against his rule. A ruling party official said earlier that Mubarak and his family had left Cairo for the glitzy Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where there is a presidential residence. He added that this proved Mubarak had handed powers to deputy Omar Suleiman.
In the morning, Egypt's powerful military gave guarantees that promised democratic reforms would be carried out but angry protesters intensified an uprising against Mubarak by marching on the presidential palace and mobbing the state television hub.
The army's gesture was an effort to defuse an 18-day-old revolt unprecedented in modern Egypt but, in ignoring the key demand of protesters for Mubarak's ouster now, it failed to stop turmoil disrupting the economy and rattling the Middle East.
Chance of chaos spreading
Mubarak had promised only that he would not for re-election in September and that he would preside over reforms until then. This was not enough for the many hundreds of thousands of mistrustful protesters who rallied in cities across the Arab world's most populous and influential country on Friday, fed up with high unemployment, a corrupt elite and police repression.
The escalating confrontation has raised fear of uncontrolled violence in the most populous Arab nation, a key U.S. ally in an oil-rich region where the chance of chaos spreading to other long stable but repressive states troubles the West.
(Reuters)
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And on his way out...don't forget to return the millions stolen.
A great moment for Egyptians. Their patience in pursuing the cause bore lovely fruit. Hope the new regime fulfils their aspirations.
Mubarak will be replaced by another gangster thug, just like Obama replacing Bush
Now comes, 'Vice President' Omar "Sheikh al-Torture" Suleiman as sinister as a B-actor playing Nosferatu.
It's as if Sheikh al-Torture was announcing that from now on all the excruciating practices under his supervision would be orderly transitioned towards a more democratic approach.
We have "opened the door to dialogue"? "Don't listen" to the "sedition" of "satellite television stations"? "Go back home"?
The same it's-us-or-chaos rant?
Sheikh al-Torture at least remained in character. After all he had already threatened to unleash "dark bats of the night ... to terrorize the people".
The street knows he's itching to go Medieval.
The regime as a whole had threatened the army could crack down big time by imposing martial law. Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit had told al-Arabiyya if "we want the armed forces to assume the responsibility of stabilizing the nation through imposing martial law, and army in the streets".
'Give me liberty or give me death'
Pepe Escobar
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MB12Ak03.html
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