[News] Defiant Mubarak refuses to resign

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Defiant Mubarak refuses to resign

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011210172519776830.html
Egyptian president vows to remain in office until his term ends in 
September, and not bow down to 'foreign pressure'.
Last Modified: 10 Feb 2011 21:28 GMT

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, has refused to step down from 
his post, saying that he will not bow to "foreign pressure" in a 
televised address to the nation.

Mubarak announced that he had put into place a framework that would 
lead to the amendment of six constitutional articles in the address 
late on Thursday night.

"I can not and will not accept to be dictated orders from outside, no 
matter what the source is," Mubarak said.

He said he was addressing his people with a "speech from the heart".


Mubarak said that he is "totally committed to fulfilling all the 
promises" that he has earlier made regarding constitutional and 
political reform.

"I have laid down a vision ... to exit the current crisis, and to 
realise the demands voiced by the youth and citizens ... without 
undermining the constitution in a manner that ensures the stability 
of our society," he said.

Mubarak said he had "initiated a very constructive national dialogue 
... and this dialogue has yielded preliminary agreement in stances and views".

He said he would stick by his earlier announcement of not seeking 
re-election in September, though he did delegate some powers to Omar 
Suleiman, the vice-president.

A state of emergency, which has been in place since Mubarak took 
power 30 years ago, remains in place, though the president promised 
to lift it as some unspecified point in the future.

"I will remain adamant to shoulder my responsibility, protecting the 
constitution and safeguarding the interests of Egyptians [until the 
next elections].

"This is the oath I have taken before God and the nation, and I will 
continue to keep this oath," he said.

Mubarak said the current "moment was not against my personality, 
against Hosni Mubarak", and concluded by saying that he would not 
leave Egyptian soil until he was "buried under it".

Mubarak's comments were not well-received by hundreds of thousands 
gathered at Cairo's Tahrir [Liberation] Square and in other cities, 
who erupted into angry chants against him. Pro-democracy protesters 
had been expecting Mubarak to resign, and their mood of celebration 
quickly turned to extreme anger as they heard the president's speech.

Rawya Rageh, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Liberation Square said the 
"mood completely altered as the president progressed with his 
speech", with protesters expressing "frustration and anger" at him.

Hundreds took off their shoes and waved them angrily at a screen 
showing Mubarak's speech, shouting "Leave, leave!"

Army meeting

Earlier, the Supreme Council of Egyptian Armed Forces had met to 
discuss the ongoing protests against Mubarak's government.

In a statement entitled 'Communique Number One', televised on state 
television, the army said it had convened the meeting response to the 
current political turmoil, and that it would continue to convene such meetings.

Thurday's meeting was chaired by Mohamed Tantawi, the defence 
minister, rather than Mubarak, who, as president, would normally have 
headed the meeting.

"Based on the responsibility of the armed forces and its commitment 
to protect the people and its keenness to protect the nation... and 
in support of the legitimate demands of the people [the army] will 
continue meeting on a continuous basis to examine measures to be 
taken to protect the nation and its gains and the ambitions of the 
great Egyptian people," the statement.

Tens of thousands poured into Tahrir Square after the army statement 
was televised. Thousands also gathered in Alexandria, Egypt's second 
city, our correspondent there said.

Earlier, Hassan al-Roweni, an Egyptian army commander, told 
protesters in the square that "everything you want will be realised".

Hassam Badrawi, the secretary general of the ruling National 
Democratic Party (NDP), told the BBC and Channel 4 News earlier on 
that he expected Mubarak to hand over his powers to Omar Suleiman, 
the vice-president during his address.

"I think the right thing to do now is to take the action that would 
satisfy ... protesters," Badrawi told BBC television in a live interview.

Ahmed Shafiq, the country's prime minister, also told the BBC that 
the president may step down on Thursday evening, and that the 
situation would be "clarified soon". He told the Reuters news agency, 
however, that Mubarak remained in control, and that "everything is 
still in the hands of the president".

However, Anas el-Fekky, Egypt's information minister, denied all 
reports of Mubarak resigning from early in the day.

"The president is still in power and he is not stepping down," 
el-Fekky told Reuters. "The president is not stepping down and 
everything you heard in the media is a rumour."

Mubarak met with Omar Suleiman, the vice-president, at the 
presidential palace ahead of his address.

'Witnessing history unfold'

Mahmoud Zaher, a retired general in the Egyptian army, said that 
Mubarak's absence from the army meeting was a "clear and strong 
indication that [Mubarak] is no longer present", implying that the 
Egyptian president was not playing a role in governance any longer.

In short comments ahead of a scheduled speech at Northern Michigan 
University, Barack Obama, the US president, said the US was watching 
the situation in Egypt "very closely". Mubarak had not spoken at that time.

"What is absolutely clear is that we are witnessing history unfold," 
he said, adding that this was a "moment of transformation" for Egypt.

"Going forward, we want ... all Egyptians to know that America will 
continue to do everything that we can to support an orderly and 
genuine transition to democracy."

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, responded to reports 
that Mubarak may resign by saying that he hoped whoever replaced him 
would uphold Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, according to an 
Israeli radio report.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foriegn affairs chief, said 
that the 27-nation bloc is ready to help Egypt build a "deep democracy".

"I reiterated that no matter what happens in the next hours and days, 
the European Union stands ready to hep build the deep democracy that 
will underpin stability for the people of Egypt," she said in a 
statement, referring to a conversation she had with Aboul Gheit, the 
Egyptian foreign minister, earlier in the day.

Protesters had earlier responded to statements from political leaders 
as indicating that they had been successful in their key demand of 
wanting Mubarak to step down.

Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who has played a key role in 
helping protesters get organised, said on the microblogging site 
Twitter on Thursday evening: "Mission accomplished. Thanks to all the 
brave young Egyptians."

Jacky Rowland, our correspondent in Tahrir Square, described the 
atmosphere as "electric", with "standing room only" in the central 
Cairo area. She said that thousands gathered there were "celebrating 
a victory which has been anticipated, rather than actually achieved".

In Alexandria, Jamal ElShayyal, our correspondent, said the 
atmosphere had turned "from joyous to now furious".

Labour union strikes

The developments came as the 17th day of pro-democracy protests 
continued across the country on Thursday, with labour unions joining 
pro-democracy protesters.

Egyptian labour unions held nationwide strikes for a second day, 
adding momentum to the pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo and other cities.

Al Jazeera correspondents in Cairo reported that thousands of 
doctors, medical students and lawyers, the doctors dressed in white 
coats and the lawyers in black robes, marched in central Cairo 
earlier on Thursday and were hailed by pro-democracy protesters as 
they entered Tahrir [Liberation] Square.

The artists syndicate and public transport workers, including bus 
drivers, also joined the strikes, our correspondents reported.

Pro-democracy supporters across the country had early on Thursday 
called for a ten-million strong demonstration to take place after 
this week's Friday prayers.




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