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Friday, February 11, 2011

Live blog Feb 11 - Egypt protests


By Al Jazeera Staff inon February 10th, 2011.
From our headquarters in Doha, we keep you updated on all things Egypt, with reporting from Al Jazeera staff in Cairo and Alexandria.  
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(All times are local in Egypt, GMT+2)
6:20pm Ayman Mohyeldin, Egyptian and Al Jazeera correspondent, says that for so many people, "a dream has become a reality".
6:12pm: Mubarak steps down. Brought to you live on Al Jazeera:
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6:09pm: No point any of our presenters trying to speak over the roar of Egyptians celebrating.
6:04pm: Jubilation breaks out across Egypt. Flags waving. Joyous scenes in Tahrir Square, Alexandria, Suez.  Watch our live stream here: http://aje.me/jelive
6:03pm: He's gone. He's resigned. 30 years of Mubarak rule is over. Omar Suleiman says:
President Hosni Mubarak has waived the office of president.
6:01pm: Omar Suleiman addressing nation now.
6:00pm: Hosni Mubarak's move to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is "a positive first step", a White House official says.
5:58pm: Ibrahim Sharqieh, of Doha Brookings Institute, tell us a lot needs to happen "before we can really call this a revolution"
For the revolution to be successful, the regime needs to be completely changed - with Mubarak no longer in power - and probabaly not in the country either.  Also, the ruling NDP leaders cannot be in power.

The army can play an important role in making this revolution successful by working to establish a transitional government to take over from Omar Suleiman.
5:50pm Hossam Badrawi, the recently appointed general secretary of the NDP, resigns saying Egypt needed new parties.
It's a resignation from the position and from the party. The formation of new parties in a new manner that reflects new thinking is better for society now at this stage.
5:40pm Alaa Abdel Fatah says that the army have now given up and are letting the protesters control the flow of people around the state television building.
5:34pm Alaa Abdel Fatah, a prominent activist, speaks to Al Jazeera from outside the state television building in Cairo:
5:33pm Egyptian Museum remains shuttered; pyramids are open, but no sign of tourists.
4:58pm Protesters in the north Sinai town of El-Arish exchanged gunfire with police and hurled Molotov cocktails at a police station, witnesses said. About 1,000 protesters broke off from a larger group and headed towards a police station, lobbing firebombs and burning police cars, witnesses said.
4:53pm Military helicopters arrive at Cairo's Presidential Palace ahead of expected statement - more details soon.
4:39pm The Egyptian presidency is to make an "urgent and important" statement shortly, state television says. Al Jazeera showing live pictures from Alexandria:
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4:34pm Obama's intelligence chief, James Clapper, calls the Muslim Brotherhood movement "largely secular", Fox News reports.
The term 'Muslim Brotherhood'...is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam.
They have pursued social ends, a betterment of the political order in Egypt, et cetera.....In other countries, there are also chapters or franchises of the Muslim Brotherhood, but there is no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally.
4:09pm The Iraqi government is offering money and free flights to their citizens in Egypt who want to leave amid the social unrest.
More than 1,700 Iraqis have so far taken up the offer to return home, with Iraq making use of prime ministers Nouri al-Maliki's personal plane and one provided by transport ministry, while families who opt to stay in Egypt are also to receive financial support.
4:02pm What the Muslim Brothers Want - Essam El-Errian, a member of the guidance council of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, writes for The New York Times, explaining that the "Egyptian people have spoken, and we have spoken emphatically".
3:56pm Tens of thousands of protestors in the port city of Suez have surrounded 10 government buildings and announced that they will not leave until Mubarak steps down. This reported by Al Ahram, the largest state owned newspaper.
3:48pm The prime minister of Denmark, Lars Rasmussen, has become the first European Union leader to call for Mubarak's resignation... saying he is, quote, "history".
3:43pm Al Jazeera continues to bring you the latest from Tahrir Square. Watch live on Youtube or here:http://aje.me/ajelive
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3:31pm Senior ruling party official tells Al-arabiya station that Mubarak has delegated his authorities to the vice president last night, and he is now in-charge.
Mohamed Abdelllah, senior member of ruling party, also said that he had information that Mubarak was heading to Sharm el-Sheikh.
3:19pm Mubarak reported to have left Cairo with his family, the AFP news agency reports, citing a source close to the government. But it said his destination was not immediately clear.
3:15pm Significant splinter demonstrations have formed at the state television station in central Cairo - thousands are still streaming out of Tahrir Square towards the television building.
3:06pm Mother of protester who was killed in the protests, addressed protesters and said that she was willing to offer her second son for the struggle for democracy.
3:02pm Heavy security contingent surrounding the presidential palace in Alexandria with snipers on top of all the buildings surrounding the area - protestors continue streaming towards the palace.
2:58pm State telvision announces that the army will lift the state of emergency, but only when things calm down.
2:55pm In last 10 minutes the barbed wire barrier on the 6th of October bridge was removed and large group of protesters making their way to the area around the state television building.
2:51pm Egyptians hold 'Farewell Friday' - Al Jazeera reports that the protesters' new push to force Mubarak to step down may test the military's loyalties.
1:30pm Thousands of pro-democracy protesters in Mahala, Tanta, Alexandria, Ismailia, and Suez took to the streets chanting "Mubarak must go".

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1:00pm
 Photo sent in by Al Jazeera English reporter during Friday prayers in Egypt's second largest city Alexandria.

After the sermon was over, Al Jazeera English reporter, tweets:

"Another friday, another massive sea of hundreds of thousands, all calling for freedom on the streets of Alexandria!"

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12:20pm 
Pro-democracy protesters continue to pour into Tahrir [Liberation] Square in Cairo. They call for president Mubarak to step down. The Imam during the Friday prayer in the square urged the people to stay strong and stick to their demands.
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12:15am 
Reuters news agency has reported Egypt's army said it would lift emergency law "as soon as current circumstances end," conceding a key demand to anti-government protesters but indicating it wanted them off the streets.

It also guaranteed a free and fair presidential election, constitutional changes and protection of the nation.

11:27am 
Vice-President Omar Suleiman has told Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq to appoint a deputy premier from a council of "wise men" who have been in talks with the government. The state news agency says the deputy prime minister would take responsibility for "a national dialogue".
11:22am A few thousand protesters have gathered in Alexandria. Our correspondent says the crowd is expected to "increase massively" after midday prayers.
11:09am Massive crowds in Tahrir are chanting "the people and the army are hand in hand".
10:43am Photo sent in by journalism student @ghazalairshad from Tahrir Square with caption "broken bones but not broken spirit".

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10:28am 
The Associated Press news agency has reported that a former Israeli Cabinet minister who has long known Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, says Mubarak is looking for an honourable way out.

Binyamin Ben-Eliezer of Israel's Labor Party says he spoke with Mubarak just hours before the president's speech yesterday in which he transferred authorities to his deputy but refused to step down.

Ben-Eliezer told Army Radio that Mubarak knew "this was the end of the road" and wanted only to "leave in an honorable fashion."

10:07am 
Egypt state TV reported that they have not been able to enter or leave the building since last night. 

9:51am  
An army officer joining protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square says 15 other middle-ranking officers have also gone over to the demonstrators.
"The armed forces' solidarity movement with the people has begun," Major Ahmed Ali Shouman tells Reuters.
9:24am The state news agency MENA says Egyptian military leaders have held an "important"' meeting and will issue a statement to the people. MENA says the chief commander and defence minister Hussein Tantawi chaired the meeting of the Armed Forces Supreme Council.
8:50am Mona Seif, an activist, posted this image of pro-democracy protesters this morning outside the national TV building. She wrote on her Twitter feed: A new morning, a new liberated area, national tv building #Jan25

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8:30am 
A video posted on Youtube shows a solidarity protest song titled Sout al Horeya, 'the sound of freedom', by Moustafa Fahmy, Mohamed Khalifa, and Mohamed Shaker.
"I went down and I said I am not coming back, and I wrote on every street wall that I am not coming back.

"All barriers have been broken down, our weapon was our dream, and the future is crystal clear to us, we have been waiting for a long time, we are still searching for our place, we keep searching for a place we belong too, in every corner in our country.

"The sound of freedom is calling, in every street corner in our country, the sound of freedom is calling..

"We will re-write history, if you are one of us, join us and don't stop us from fulfilling our dream. 

The sound of freedom is calling. 



7:55am 
Don't forget, if you're in Britain - and have Freeview, you can watch us live on TV - right now!  And if you're in the US, you can Demand Al Jazeera on your network, too...



7:50am YouTube.com has linked to Al Jazeera across their entire site. http://aje.me/YouTB

7:00am 
Ramy Raoof, an Egyptian activist, tells Al Jazeera: the demonstrators in Tahrir [Liberation] Square are peaceful demonstrators, if any violence erupts it will come from the regime's side not the demonstrators.  



6:39am 
Daniel Williams in Los Angeles TimesEgypt's power players 
"In Egypt, the military is not a profession; it's a ruling caste. If that doesn't change, ousting Hosni Mubarak will mean little."
5:52am Thousands of protesters have moved overnight towards the sensitive presidential palace, in the upscale neighbourhood of Heliopolis in central Cairo.
In addition to Tahrir Square, pro-democracy protests have already blocked access to the parliament building near the Liberation Square.

Thousands of protesters were also surrounding the radio and television building in Cairo, which they see as a mouthpiece for Mubarak's regime.

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[AFP]

5:48am 
After two-and-a-half weeks of calls for him to go, president Hosni Mubarak's TV speech was eagerly anticipated. But hopes they would be hearing a resignation speech were dashed Al Jazeera's Jackie Rowland reports.


5:20am Thomas L.Friedman in The New York Times: Out of Touch, Out of Time. . .
This man is staggeringly out of touch with what is happening inside his country. This is Rip Van Winkle meets Facebook.

4:30am 
Jim Hoagland in The Washington Post: Dear Hosni Mubarak . . .
Not nearly enough, Mr. President. Not within a million miles of enough.
3:51am Scenes from Tahrir Square: Mubarak's Non-Resignation (by one of our web producers in Cairo)
 3:34am  Robert Fisk of The Independent: As Mubarak clings on... What now for Egypt?
To the horror of Egyptians and the world, President Hosni Mubarak – haggard and apparently disoriented – appeared on state television last night to refuse every demand of his opponents by staying in power for at least another five months.
3:24am Canadian cartoonist Patrick Corrigan responds to Mubarak's speech (posted by globalcartoons via twitpic).
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3:14am Al Jazeera Arabic reports roughly 10,000 protesters are surrounding the state TV building in Cairo. The protesters are planning to spend the night there.
3:00am Statement of US president Barack Obama on Egypt:
The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient. Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy, and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world. The Egyptian government must put forward a credible, concrete and unequivocal path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity.[...]
2:55am CNN says there are 1,000-2,000 protesters who have reached the presidential palace, an extremely sensitive site which nobody has marched to thus far. We're hearing that they are settling in for the night. That means there could be consistent, camped-out protests at Tahrir, parliament, and the presidential palace.
2:41am Pro-democracy protesters call for 20 million Egyptians to march tomorrow after Friday prayers.
2:25am More photos of angry protesters on Tahrir square listening to Mubarak’s speech (posted by @LaurenBohn via twitpic)
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2:05am Marc Lynch in Foreign Policy: Responding to the Worst Speech Ever
It's hard to exaggerate how bad Hosni Mubarak's speech today was for Egypt....
2:00am An angry crowd has gathered in front of the Egyptian State TV building in Cairo. Protesters are chanting against the regime and calling for Mubarak to resign. (posted by @Gsquare86)
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1:45am Slavoj Žižek in The Guardian: For Egypt, this is the miracle of Tahrir Square
There is no room for compromise. Either the entire Mubarak edifice falls, or the uprising is betrayed.
1:35am Britain's Foreign Minister William Hague:
 It is not clear what powers Mubarak is handing over to his deputy.
1:22am Protesters gathered in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square brandished their shoes - a serious insult in the Muslim world - while others shouted "Get out!" and "Down, down Hosni Mubarak".
1:05am Tunisians call on Egyptian protesters to see through their pro-democracy demonstrations after Mubarak announced his intention to stay in his position.

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