HUNDREDS OF thousands of Egyptians rallied yesterday in the centre of Cairo and the squares and streets of Alexandria and other cities calling for president Hosni Mubarak to stand down now.
“Leave, leave, leave,” the throng commanded after Friday prayers in Tahrir Square at the heart of the capital. “Go, go, go!” echoed marchers in Mahala and Giza. The protesters, guarded by troops in tanks and monitored by hovering helicopters, were generally peaceful. They sang the national anthem and brandished the Egypt’s black, white and red flag. “Where are you, freedom? Mubarak is standing between us,” they cried. Soldiers stood aside, watched, grinned, and one or two nodded in agreement.
During the morning, defence minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi visited troops deployed in tanks on the perimeter of Tahrir Square with the aim of preventing further incursions from armed Mubarak loyalists who stormed into the square on Wednesday night, killing at least 13 and wounding hundreds of protesters. The army, the sole functioning state institution, was roundly castigated for failing to intervene to prevent this attack.
Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League, visited the square and addressed the throng. He is mentioned as a possible candidate to succeed Mr Mubarak.
In the afternoon, some 300 pro-Mubarak activists paraded across Boulaq Bridge and another 200 rallied beneath the flyovers on 26th July Street in Zamalek. These gatherings seemed to be intended to show the pro-Mubarak faction could also demonstrate peacefully.
But even a reinforced army presence did not prevent clashes between pro-Mubarak elements and protesters at Talat Harb Square, 500 metres from the edge of Tahrir Square. Shots rang out across the city at dusk and helicopters roared overhead.
Organisers of the protests vowed to continue until Mr Mubarak steps down, but prime minister Ahmad Shafiq said he would not hand over his powers to newly appointed vice-president Omar Suleiman before the September presidential election. “We need president Mubarak to stay for legislative reasons,” he said.
Mr Mubarak and his regime seemed to turn a deaf ear to the US and EU which called for him to begin the transition process from his 30-year reign “now”. The president, 82 and ailing, said on Thursday he is “fed up” with being in charge of this nation of 80 million but feared his resignation would lead to “chaos”. However, in a bid to show flexibility, Mr Suleiman is set to meet Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei and former presidential candidate Ayman Nour today to discuss possible scenarios for the transition.
While journalists, who have been subjected to harassment and violence by Mubarak loyalists, were generally allowed to work without threats, the offices of al-Jazeera, the Qatari satellite channel, were trashed and burned by “gangs of thugs,” according to a statement by the network.
Security forces also arrested a dozen journalists at offices of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest opposition party, which is blamed by the regime for organising the protests.