Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
the most horrible part of the past 18 days was the looting of egyptian national museum. i had tears in my eyes when i saw it on tv :-/
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
So Mr. Mubarak Went .. Yaayyyy … Cheers, Jubilations, happiness.. But now what?? Army in control? Mr. Omar Suleiman, the next president who is himself a person forwarded by Israelis who trust this person the most after mubarak. (Ref: Yesterday’s NPR buletin.. I’ll try to get the link).
I dont see any breakthrough happening. for egyptian people. Its just the change of faces.
Here is a very good article mentioned by NYtimes.. and that says it all!!
February 11, 2011, 11:34 am
Avoiding a New Pharaoh
By NICHOLAS KRISTOFSo Hosni Mubarak is out. Vice President Omar Suleiman says that Mubarak has stepped down and handed over power to the military. This is a huge triumph for people power, and it will resonate across the Middle East and far beyond (you have to wonder what President Hu Jintao of China is thinking right now). The narrative about how Arab countries are inhospitable for democracy, how the Arab world is incompatible with modernity — that has been shattered by the courage and vision of so many Tunisians and Egyptians.
It’s also striking that Egyptians triumphed over their police state without Western help or even moral support. During rigged parliamentary elections, the West barely raised an eyebrow. And when the protests began at Tahrir Square, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the Mubarak government was “stable” and “looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.” Oops. So much for our $80 billion intelligence agency. On my Facebook fan page, I asked my fans (before the Tahrir protests began) what the next Tunisia would be. A surprising number said Egypt — if you were among them, you apparently did better than our intelligence community. Indeed, Egyptians in Tahrir told me that they were broadly inspired by America’s example of freedom, but that their greatest inspiration came from Tunisia and Al Jazeera. On Tahrir Square, there were signs saying “Thank you, Tunisia.” So, all of you Tunisians and Egyptians, “mabrouk” or “congratulations”! You’ve made history. The score in Egypt is: People Power, 1; Police State, 0.
But the game isn’t over, and now a word of caution. I worry that senior generals may want to keep (with some changes) a Mubarak-style government without Mubarak. In essence the regime may have decided that Mubarak had become a liability and thrown him overboard — without any intention of instituting the kind of broad, meaningful democracy that the public wants. Senior generals have enriched themselves and have a stake in a political and economic structure that is profoundly unfair and oppressive. And remember that the military running things directly really isn’t that different from what has been happening: Mubarak’s government was a largely military regime (in civilian clothes) even before this. Mubarak, Vice President Suleiman and so many others — including nearly all the governors — are career military men. So if the military now takes over, how different is it?
The military ostensibly played a neutral role in recent weeks, and protesters certainly feel much more sympathetic to the military than to the police. But some elements of the army have been involved in repression of pro-democracy protesters, including arrest and torture. The Guardian noted:
One of those detained by the army was a 23-year-old man who would only give his first name, Ashraf, for fear of again being arrested. He was detained last Friday on the edge of Tahrir Square carrying a box of medical supplies intended for one of the makeshift clinics treating protesters attacked by pro-Mubarak forces….
Ashraf was hauled off to a makeshift army post where his hands were bound behind his back and he was beaten some more before being moved to an area under military control at the back of the museum.
“They put me in a room. An officer came and asked me who was paying me to be against the government. When I said I wanted a better government he hit me across the head and I fell to the floor. Then soldiers started kicking me. One of them kept kicking me between my legs,” he said. “They got a bayonet and threatened to rape me with it. Then they waved it between my legs. They said I could die there or I could disappear into prison and no one would ever know. The torture was painful but the idea of disappearing in a military prison was really frightening.”
That kind of thing happened to a lot of people, and those millions of brave Egyptians who went to the streets were protesting not just against Mubarak but against the police state as a whole. May Mubarak’s resignation mark a milestone toward their goal — and I think it is, but it’s not the end of the journey. And let’s hope that the United States makes absolutely clear that it stands for full democracy, not just for some kind of false stability that derives from authoritarianism. The Obama administration missed the boat in the last few weeks, but I thought yesterday’s speech and statement by President Obama marked an improvement. Let’s hope it continues. May Mubarak’s resignation mark a new beginning — in Egypt, and also in wiser American policy toward Egypt and the Arab world.
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
Omar Suleiman has gone as well. In place of Mubarak, Suleiman and the former government is a new Military Council headed by the Defence Minister.
The military will go along with the people's aspirations, and in some months time Egypt will have it's first democratically elected government and President.
As millions of Egyptians are shouting today "Allah Akbar", today history has been made and others in the region and wider afield will emulate.
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
the most horrible part of the past 18 days was the looting of egyptian national museum. i had tears in my eyes when i saw it on tv :-/
No, it was the 326 people he killed and the countless he injured. That is the tragedy here.
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
Egyptian people are still in the square. Their voices have been clear about army only playing a transitional role and eventually removing all of the prior clauses in the constitution for elections to take place in the coming months.
With no one particular party or leader emerging in this period it would be interesting to see what the next steps are and to what extent the army helps makes the transition as smooth as possible.
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
Firstly, the credit goes to the Tunisian man who put himself in flames and started this ripple effect. Its amazing to see how the Egyptian people, with all the death, managed to organize and sustain a peaceful and democratic movement and make their voices heard throughout the region and world.
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
No, it was the 326 people he killed and the countless he injured. That is the tragedy here.
oh yeah.. how could i forget that.
i still wish i could find those looters.
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
Wael Ghonim, the young hero and an inspirational leader in the Egyptian Revolution tweeted the following just after the overthrow of Mubarak:-
“Dear Western Governments, You've been silent for 30 years supporting the regime that was oppressing us. Please don't get involved now.”
That I believe represents the overwhelming view of the Egyptian people.
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
:k:
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
khus kam, jahan pak.
tell me Saudia is next 
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
Astagfirullah you are against the khadmain sharifeen ? Saudis are great friends of Pakistan, didn't you hear mmkay? :)
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
Is he benchmark of corruption for Pakistani leaders with his £40 billion net worth?
Re: Breaking News: Mubarak steps down
What corruption? Innocent before proven guilty.. :)