Mubarak says to step down after election

CAIRO, (Reuters) – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak  said today he would step down in a few months once a  successor is elected, a move that responds to massive street  protests but which may not satisfy many who want him out now.
A million people, maybe more, rallied across the country  earlier in the day, clamouring for an end to the 30-year-rule of  the former general who has towered over Middle East politics.

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak addresses the nation on Egyptian State TV in this still image taken from video, February 1, 2011

In Cairo’s Tahrir or Liberation, Square, there was cheering  after the 82-year-old leader’s pugnacious broadcast on state  television but also questioning about whether a transition of  many months will be something the opposition will agree to.
“Leave, leave!” came the chant, showing Mubarak’s defiant  insistence on serving out his fifth term did not go down well.
Looking calm in suit and tie, he said: “I say in all honesty  and regardless of the current situation, that I did not intend  to nominate myself for a new presidential term. I’ve spent  enough years of my life in the service of Egypt and its people.

Protesters take part in an anti-Mubarak protest at Tahrir square in Cairo today. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
Protesters take part in an anti-Mubarak protest at Tahrir square in Cairo today. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

“I am now absolutely determined to finish my work for the  nation in a way that ensures handing over its safekeeping and  banner … preserving its legitimacy and respecting the  constitution … I will work in the remaining months of my term  to take the steps to ensure peaceful transfer of power.”
Mubarak has lost the support of key ally the United States,  which has pushed hard for him to make way for a democratic  handover, at least come September’s scheduled presidential  election. He also appeared to lose wholehearted backing from the  army, which has said protesters’ demands are “legitimate”.   But his appeal to the nation of 80 million seemed designed  to reach over the heads of the young, urban dissidents gathered  in city centres to the wider population fearful of change and  chaos. He accused opponents of being behind looting and disorder  in the past week and recalled his military career as a defender  of Egypt in war, saying he would not leave the country.

SPREADING UNREST
His departure may reconfigure the geopolitical map of the  Middle East, with implications from Israel to oil giant Saudi  Arabia. Unrest is stirring in other Arab countries like Jordan  and Yemen, sending oil prices higher on fears of trouble in  Saudi Arabia and on Egypt’s Suez Canal.

Protesters pray in front of Army tanks during a mass demonstration against the government in Tahrir Square in Cairo February 1, 2011. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis
Protesters pray in front of Army tanks during a mass demonstration against the government in Tahrir Square in Cairo February 1, 2011. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

King Abdullah of Jordan replaced his prime minister today following protests.
Egypt’s opposition, embracing the banned Islamist group the  Muslim Brotherhood, Christians, intellectuals and others, began  to coalesce around the figure of Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel  Peace laureate for his work as head of the U.N. nuclear agency.
ElBaradei said on Tuesday Mubarak must leave Egypt before  the reformist opposition would start talks with the government  on the future of the Arab world’s most populous nation. His  supporters spoke of forming a broad-based “board of trustees” to  draft constitutional reforms and oversee free elections.
“There can be dialogue but it has to come after the demands  of the people are met and the first of those is that President  Mubarak leaves,” ElBaradei told Al Arabiya television.
Gauging the numbers of protesters was difficult. Reuters  estimated it hit the million mark that activists had called for.  “Mubarak wake up! Today is the last day!” some shouted.
Effigies of Mubarak were hung from traffic lights. The crowds  included men, women and children from all walks of life, showing  the breadth of opposition to Mubarak.
The demonstration was an emphatic rejection of Mubarak’s  appointment of a new vice president, Omar Suleiman, a cabinet  reshuffle and an offer to open a dialogue with the opposition.

U.S. ENVOY
Analysts said a transition was already under way but the  military brass would want to grant Mubarak a graceful exit.
The United States and other Western allies were caught out  by the uprising against a stalwart ally who has been a key  figure in Middle East peace moves for decades. Washington called  for reforms and free elections but is also concerned that  Islamists could gain a slice of power should Mubarak be forced  out.
The prospect of a hostile neighbour on Israel’s western  border also worries Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But pressure on Mubarak also came from elsewhere.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Mubarak should  listen to the people’s demands.
Popular demands for more democracy could sweep across the  Arab world from Yemen to Jordan, Morocco to Saudi Arabia.
“What is happening in Egypt is really lighting a fire across  the whole region,” said analyst Maha Azzam in London.
“The problem is that the West has relied on these  authoritarian regimes for too long. There is a lot of anger and  now it is spilling over.”
Protesters were inspired in part by a revolt in Tunisia  which toppled its president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on Jan. 14.  But years of repression have left few obvious civilian leaders  able to fill any gap left by Mubarak’s departure.
The hitherto banned Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood  stayed in the background early in the uprising but is now  raising its profile. Analysts say it could do well in any  election.
At least 140 people have died since demonstrations began  last Tuesday, most in clashes between protesters and police.
The price of oil, the most sensitive indicator of market  unease about the Middle East, rose. Brent crude passed $102 a  barrel on word of disruption at Egyptian ports.