Mubarak told to go by Friday

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Demonstrators pray at Tahrir Square in Cairo on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP

At least one million Egyptians took to the streets on Tuesday in scenes never before seen in the Arab nation’s
modern history, roaring in unison for President Hosni Mubarak and his new government to quit.
The Army’s pledge on Monday not to use force against demonstrators emboldened Egyptians to push for the biggest shakeup of the political system since 1952 when Army officers deposed King Farouk.
More than 200,000 Egyptians crowded into Tahrir Square in central Cairo and 20,000 marched in the eastern city of Suez. Demonstrations were held in Alexandria on the north coast, Ismailia and cities in the Nile Delta such as Tanta, Mansoura and Mahalla el-Kubra.
Across the country the numbers expressing their anger with Mr Mubarak and his ministers have hit the million mark that activists wanted, according to a Reuters estimate. “Mubarak wake up, today is the last day,” they shouted in Alexandria.
As foreign governments scrambled to evacuate their nationals, the Opposition said it would not negotiate with Mr Mubarak, while Mohamed ElBaradei, who some consider a leader of the anti-regime protests, said Friday had been set as “departure day” for Mr Mubarak.
A committee of Opposition groups, which includes Mr ElBaradei and the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, pledged that there would be no negotiations with the regime until Mr Mubarak “leaves”, a statement said.
Protesters, including men, women and children, swarmed Cairo’s streets from early morning, joining hundreds who had spent the night on the square in tents or just sleeping on the grass, unbowed by the presence of troops and tanks.
As Washington confirmed that US ambassador Margaret Scobey had spoken by telephone with Mr ElBaradei, Madiha Shalaby, 38, held aloft a sign in the square calling on the “US to support Egyptians”. Angry with Mr Mubarak’s stubborn clinging on to power, she said: “He destroyed everything. He let the police disappear but we are not afraid... We are stronger than ever.”
Said another protester, Basma Mahmud, 30: “We are waiting for them to say he has left, that he is on a plane. This is our dream.”
Chants of “Revolution! Revolution until victory!” rang out in the square amid a festive atmosphere among the crowds.
The Army, which has said it will not shoot at protesters, checked IDs and searched protesters before allowing them into the square. Civilians then checked IDs again, fearing plainclothes police acting as agents provocateurs. Female civilians were tasked with searching female demonstrators.
“I will stay here till I die,” said a defiant Osama Allam. “If I die now my whole family will be proud of me. This is what
the Egyptian people need,” said the 43-year-old lawyer, an effigy of veteran Mubarak hanging from nearby traffic lights, “Off with your head” daubed on his face.
UN high commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay said that according to unconfirmed reports, a total of 300 people had died in the anti-government unrest so far, with casualties “mounting on a daily basis”.
In a bid to stem the burgeoning crisis, Mr Mubarak announced a new Cabinet that saw the demise of widely feared interior minister Habib al-Adly, whose notorious security forces have been accused of systematic human rights violations. For the first time he also appointed a vice-president who offered talks with the Opposition. Veteran intelligence chief Omar Suleiman said Mr Mubarak had tasked him “with opening immediate talks with the political forces to begin a dialogue around all the issues concerning
constitutional and legislative reforms.”
But the protest organisers denounced the moves as too little too late and announced an indefinite general strike.
The Army stated clearly that it would not confront the demonstrators. “To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people,” stress that “they have not and will not use force against the Egyptian people”, it said in a statement.
Mr ElBaradei told Al-Arabiya satellite channel that Mr Mubarak should go by Friday. “What I have heard (from protesters) is that they want this to end, if not today (Tuesday), then by Friday maximum,” he said, adding that the Egyptians have marked Friday as “departure day”. “I hope President Mubarak goes before this and leaves the country after 30 years of rule... I don’t think he wants to see more blood.”
But he also called for him to be spared prosecution. “I’m for a safe exit for President Mubarak,” the Nobel laureate told Al-Hurra television. “We’re going to turn the page, we can pardon the past,” he said, as hundreds of thousands rallied around Egypt for an eighth day demanding Mr Mubarak quit. The determined but peaceful crowds filled Tahrir (Liberation) Square on Tuesday and spilled into nearby streets, among them people defying a government transport shutdown to make their way from rural provinces in the Nile Delta. Protesters jammed in shoulder-to-shoulder, with schoolteachers, farmers, unemployed university graduates, women in conservative headscarves and women in high heels, men in suits and working-class men in scuffed shoes. They sang nationalist songs, danced, beat drums and chanted
the anti-Mubarak slogan “Leave! Leave! Leave!” as military helicopters buzzed overhead.
Normally bustling, Cairo’s streets outside Tahrir Square had a fraction of their normal weekday traffic. Banks, schools and the stockmarket in Cairo were closed for the third working day, making cash tight. Long lines formed outside bakeries as people tried to replenish their stores of bread, for which prices were spiralling.
An unprecedented shutdown of the Internet was in its fifth day after the last of the service providers abruptly stopped shuttling Internet traffic into and out of the country. Cairo’s international airport remained a scene of chaos as thousands of foreigners sought to flee.