Egypt unrest: Mubarak refuses to step down, huge Friday protest planned

Mangalore Today News Network

Cairo, Feb 11:  President Hosni Mubarak told the Egyptian people on Thursday that he would delegate authority to Vice President Omar Suleiman but that he would not resign, enraging hundreds of thousands gathered to hail his departure and setting in motion a volatile new stage in the three-week uprising. (Watch: Mubarak’s full speech)

The declaration by Mr. Mubarak that he would remain president appeared to signal a dangerous escalation in one of the largest popular revolts in Egypt’s history, and some protesters warned that weeks of peaceful rallies might give way to violence as early as Friday.

The 17-minute speech itself underlined a seemingly unbridgeable gap between ruler and ruled in Egypt: Mr. Mubarak, in paternalistic tones, talked in great detail about changes he planned to make to Egypt’s autocratic Constitution, while crowds in Tahrir Square, with bewilderment and anger, demanded that he step down.

Mr. Mubarak seemed oblivious. "It’s not about me," he said in his address. When he was done, crowds in Cairo waved the bottoms of their shoes in the air, a gesture intended to convey disgust, and shouted, "Leave! Leave!"

The reaction abroad to Mr. Mubarak’s address was more measured, but also critical. President Obama issued a statement on Thursday night saying that "too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy." European leaders also called for more fundamental change and urged that it happen faster.

The speech came after a tumultuous day of dramatic gestures and fevered speculation in which the newly appointed leader of Mr. Mubarak’s party said the president had agreed to step down, and the military issued a communiqué in which it declared it was intervening to safeguard the country, language some opposition leaders read as signaling a possible coup d’état.

Earlier in the day, even Mr. Obama seemed to believe that Mr. Mubarak would go further, celebrating his belief that Egypt was "witnessing history unfold."

Instead, Mr. Mubarak, 82, a former general, struck a defiant, even provocative note. While he acknowledged for the first time that his government had made mistakes, he made it clear that he was still president and that reforms in Egypt would proceed under his government’s supervision and according to the timetable of elections in September.

Though Mr. Suleiman was already acting as the face of the government, the announcement gave him official duties, albeit ones Mr. Mubarak can revoke.

"I saw fit to delegate the authorities of the president to the vice president, as dictated by the Constitution," Mr. Mubarak said. He added that he was "adamant to continue to shoulder my responsibility to protect the Constitution and safeguard the interests of the people."

He echoed the contention of officials in past days that foreigners might be behind the uprising, but he cited no evidence to support that allegation.

"We will not accept or listen to any foreign interventions or dictations," he said.

For hours before Mr. Mubarak’s speech, jubilant crowds, prematurely celebrating their victory, positioned themselves next to large speakers for what they assumed was a resignation speech. Men passed out free packages of dates. Protesters parted only for lines of teenagers chanting: "He’s going to go. We’re not going to go."

At about 10:45, the crowd quieted as Mr. Mubarak started his speech, which was transmitted via a tiny radio that someone held up to a microphone. As it wore on, the muttering began. "Donkey," someone said.

Soon, angry chants echoed through the square. People gathered in groups, confused, enraged and faced with Mr. Mubarak’s plea to endorse his vision of gradual reform. Some said his speech was intended to divide the protesters, by peeling off those who thought he had gone far enough. Others said it reflected the isolation of a president they had come to detest.

"Mubarak didn’t believe us until now, but we will make him believe tomorrow," said Ashraf Osman, 49, an accountant who joined protesters in the square.

By midnight, about 3,000 protesters made their way from the square to the Radio and Television Building, which protesters loathe for propaganda that has cast them as troublemakers. The building was barricaded with barbed wire, tanks and armored vehicles. Many protesters said they planned to sleep there, in yet another move to broaden their protests that have so far focused on Tahrir Square and the nearby Parliament building. Some protesters also began gathering outside the presidential palace.

"We must stop these liars," said Mohamed Zuhairy, a 30-year-old engineer, who had joined the crowd. "Television must reflect the real power of the revolution."

By midnight, about 3,000 protesters made their way from the square to the Radio and Television Building, which protesters loathe for propaganda that has cast them as troublemakers. The building was barricaded with barbed wire, tanks and armored vehicles. Many protesters said they planned to sleep there, in yet another move to broaden their protests that have so far focused on Tahrir Square and the nearby Parliament building. Some protesters also began gathering outside the presidential palace.

"We must stop these liars," said Mohamed Zuhairy, a 30-year-old engineer, who had joined the crowd. "Television must reflect the real power of the revolution."

There were even moments of humor in a country with a well-deserved reputation for it. Protesters joked that the defining chant of the protests -- "The people want the overthrow of the government" -- had become "The people want to understand the speech."

In a sign of the confusion that reigned in Cairo, youthful opposition leaders sought to dissect the series of statements from the military command, Mr. Mubarak and Mr. Suleiman. Some believed that the army, long a player behind the scenes, was still intent on seeking power but had not yet mustered the leverage to force Mr. Mubarak from office.

"We are thinking there has been a clash between the army and Suleiman, and the army wants us to raise our protests so they can take over," said Shady el-Ghazali Harb, a protest leader. "We think the army doesn’t want Omar Suleiman."

It was unclear whether the military had tried to oust Mr. Mubarak and failed or was participating in a more complicated choreography in Egypt’s opaque system of rule. A military statement after Mr. Mubarak’s speech had yet to be broadcast by early Friday.

For days, the protests in Tahrir Square have gathered momentum, with some of the biggest crowds yet on Tuesday, despite the government’s attempts to suggest that the city was returning to normalcy. In the square, tents have multiplied, as the protests themselves have exalted the resonant symbols of sacrifice. Pictures of those killed adorn tents, some inscribed with notes from passersby.

"They are heroes," said Gamal Shaaban, a 49-year-old government employee who scrawled on one of the pictures, "You are the true people."

"This government has no legitimacy left," he said. "It’s lost it. It’s now the legitimacy of the people and the revolution."

Along with the protests, labor strikes have flared across Egypt, organized by workers at post offices, telecommunications centers, textile factories and cement plants. Clashes have occurred in distant parts of the country -- from the New Valley west of the Nile to Suez, a city along the Suez Canal, which provides Egypt with crucial earnings.

Organizers have said demonstrators plan to rally at six sites throughout the capital on Friday, then converge not only on Tahrir Square as in the past, but also on Parliament and the television building. While organizers have said Friday’s rallies may be some of the biggest protests yet, they spoke in darker tones about what they may represent now, given what many view as the determination of Mr. Mubarak to stay in office, whatever the numbers.

"He set the country on fire," said Zyad el-Elaimy, one of the organizers. "No one can control the violence tomorrow. Tomorrow I think a lot of people will be killed."

The anger was fueled in good part by expectations that Mr. Mubarak would be making his last address to the nation. For much of the day, people traded rumors about where he might be preparing to go to -- Bahrain and Dubai were two rumored destinations -- and then by a cascade of official statements suggesting that might be the case.

The first came from the civilian government. Around 3 p.m., Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq told the BBC that talks with Mr. Mubarak about his possible resignation were already under way.

Gen. Hassan al-Roueini appeared in Tahrir Square to tell protesters that "all your demands will be met today," witnesses said, words that were quickly read by crowds around him to mean that Mr. Mubarak was on the way out.

A short time later, the military, still seen as potentially decisive in the conflict, announced that it was taking action in what sounded to many people like a coup.

"In affirmation and support for the legitimate demands of the people, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces convened today, 10 February 2011, to consider developments to date," an army spokesman declared on state television, in what was described as communiqué No. 1 of the army command, "and decided to remain in continuous session to consider what procedures and measures that may be taken to protect the nation, and the achievements and aspirations of the great people of Egypt."

Around the same time, Gen. Sami Hafez Enan, the chief of staff of the armed forces, appeared in Tahrir Square to tell the protesters the same thing, to roars of celebration.

The reports seemed increasingly convincing, to both protesters and even high-ranking officials. Hossam Badrawy, the top official of the ruling party, said in a television interview that he had personally told the president he should resign. And, though Mr. Mubarak did not respond, Mr. Badrawy said he believed he would go. "That is my expectation, that is my hope," he added in an interview. The news electrified protestors in the square. Wael Ghonim, a Google executive and protest organizer whose anti-torture Facebook page helped ignite the movement, celebrated in a Twitter feed: "Mission accomplished. Thanks to all the brave young Egyptians." The crowd in Tahrir Square soon swelled to half a million.

But as night fell on a rainy day and Egyptians huddled around their televisions in anticipation of a presidential resignation speech, confusion began to swirl. Contradicting what had become a widespread conviction that Mr. Mubarak was on the way out, the minister of information said the president would not resign at all. On state television, agitated analysts speculated openly about conflict between the president and military.

Mr. Mubarak opened his speech with words that suggested he was staying. "I am addressing all of you from the heart, a speech from the father to his sons and daughters," he said. He expressed what he described as pride for them.

The response ranged from the despondent to the desperate.

"Can this man be serious or did he lose his mind?" asked George Ishak, a longtime opposition leader. "People will not go home and tomorrow will be a horrible day. It is a redundant speech, it is annoying and we heard it a thousand times before."

Mohamed ElBaradei, an opposition leader and Nobel laureate, was blunter. "I ask the army to intervene immediately to save Egypt," he wrote on his Twitter feed. "The credibility of the army is being put to the test."

(Reporting was contributed by Kareem Fahim, Liam Stack, Mona El-Naggar and Thanassis Cambanis from Cairo and Sheryl Stolberg from Marquette, Mich.)