CAIRO — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced Tuesday night that he will not run in elections slated for the fall, speaking hours after hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators staged their largest rallies yet to demand he step aside immediately.
The statement, promising “a peaceful transfer of power,” marked Mubarak’s most significant concession to a public uprising that he said had brought “difficult times” to Egypt. But the gesture was immediately rejected by protesters who believe they have gained unstoppable momentum in their struggle to bring an immediate end to Mubarak’s three-decade reign.
“He needs to leave right now. We’ve already waited 30 years, and we don’t want to wait anymore,” said Amy Hashem, 23, who was among the thousands of demonstrators who have vowed to occupy Tahrir Square, Cairo’s central plaza, until Mubarak leaves office. Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei demanded that Mubarak step down by Friday, and other opposition figures have said Mubarak’s resignation is a condition for any negotiations with the government.
“It would have been better for him to say, ‘I love my people, and I’m leaving,’ ” ElBaradei said in an interview after Mubarak’s speech. “Unfortunately, this will just extend the period of instability.”
There were indications, however, that Mubarak’s move might prove palatable to some critics. Amr Moussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister, called the announcement “a very important step” that “should be considered carefully.”
Under growing pressure at home and abroad, Mubarak had been left with little room to maneuver. His announcement will set off jockeying among potential successors, including ElBaradei and Moussa, who is now secretary general of the Arab League, as well as other candidates from a broad array of opposition factions, from liberal technocrats to more conservative Islamists.
The demonstration in Egypt was by far the largest since the protests began Jan. 25, and the jubilant mood reflected a confidence among the crowds that Mubarak would soon be gone. The 82-year-old has long maintained his grip here through fear, but there was none in evidence Tuesday, with soldiers smiling as protesters peacefully filled Tahrir Square past capacity and surged into downtown streets.
Protest organizers had vowed to bring a million people to the streets of Egypt, and while reliable crowd estimates were impossible to come by, the turnout was unquestionably impressive. The protests also attracted record crowds in cities across the country, and organizers said a nationwide strike would continue until Mubarak steps down.
In Tahrir, which means “liberation” in Arabic, flag-waving demonstrators held hand-written signs reading “checkmate.” Groups of protesters furiously chanted against the president, their words reverberating across the city: “The pharaoh is finished!” Among demonstrators, Mubarak’s departure had seemed an impossibility a month ago and became a whispered hope just last week. But Tuesday, protesters spoke of it as inevitable and said they are in no mood to compromise.
“The game is over. He can’t save himself anymore,” said Mohammed Hussein, 27, a doctor.
Mubarak’s announcement Tuesday night that he would not run followed another major concession Monday, when Omar Suleiman, the newly appointed vice president, said the government hoped to open negotiations with the opposition. Taken together, the moves suggest government authorities are eager for a resolution to a crisis that has paralyzed the nation.
Trading on the Egyptian stock market has been suspended since late last week, and most business has ground to a halt as shops have shuttered and factory workers have walked off the job. The country’s struggling economy could be devastated if the standoff continues for much longer.
Protesters continued Tuesday to demand that the United States take a more vocal role in supporting their movement. They say fears of an Islamist takeover of Egypt are vastly overblown and emphasize that the nation’s minority Christian community has been heavily involved in their movement. Although members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the nation’s best- organized opposition group, have turned up at the protests in greater numbers in recent days, the group is hardly driving the demonstrations.
“Washington has been very anxious about what’s happening here, but it shouldn’t be. It should be happy,” said Mohammed Fouad, 29, a software engineer. “This will reduce terrorism. When people have their voice, they don’t need to explode themselves.”
Speaking after Mubarak’s announcement, President Barack Obama said he had called Mubarak to discuss the situation in Egypt.
“He recognizes that the status quo is not sustainable and that change must take place,” Obama said at the White House. He said he told Mubarak of “my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.”
Obama met with his top national-security officials after Mubarak’s televised speech as the White House contemplated its next step. Although officials have said the administration was not opposed to Mubarak’s remaining in office through a transition period if that was acceptable to the Egyptian people, several indicated in recent days that they did not see how that would satisfy the vast throngs who have taken to the streets to demand his ouster.
Possible outcomes
The protests rocking Egypt could change the political landscape of the entire Arab world and beyond.
Best-case scenario: A pro-democracy group gains power in Egypt, the world’s largest Arab nation. Egypt is critically important to U.S. foreign policy and to major goals the Obama administration is pursuing in the Middle East: the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, containment of Iran’s influence and nuclear ambitions, and counterterrorism.
Middle ground: There could be a long period of instability that could breed economic chaos across the region and derail economic recoveries in the U.S. and Europe.
Worst-case scenario: A rise in extremist Muslim factions in Egypt, Tunisia and even Jordan. The Suez Canal and an adjacent pipeline could be closed, the Egyptian-Israeli peace accord renounced, the U.S.-Egyptian diplomatic and military relationship ended. Iran could move in to fill the vacuum. That could trigger war between Israel and Iran, perhaps involving nuclear weapons. American influence throughout the region would be greatly diminished.
The Associated Press
