From Tahrir Square. Follow 3arabawy on Twitter for pics and updates from Cairo by 3arabawy
Check OpEdNews throughout the day for updates.
3:22 PM ET Sandmonkey on Twitter: " According to police sources, about 10,000 people got rounded up in the past 2 days & then released for lack of space in jails."
3:05 PM ET No real new developments to report. There are no reports of any real violence from Mubarak thugs or no reports of further moves by the military to move protesters out of Tahrir Square. There is no chatter on Twitter indicating a need to be afraid. This is all good news.
The New York Times has this article up on two reporters who were detained and "saw secret police methods firsthand."
Slavoj Zizek has a post up on The Guardian where he excoriates Western liberals for being weak:
Here, then, is the moment of truth: one cannot claim, as in the case of Algeria a decade ago, that allowing truly free elections equals delivering power to Muslim fundamentalists. Another liberal worry is that there is no organised political power to take over if Mubarak goes. Of course there is not; Mubarak took care of that by reducing all opposition to marginal ornaments, so that the result is like the title of the famous Agatha Christie novel, And Then There Were None. The argument for Mubarak -" it's either him or chaos -" is an argument against him.For more Zizek, view this video from Riz Khan which aired on Al Jazeera.The hypocrisy of western liberals is breathtaking: they publicly supported democracy, and now, when the people revolt against the tyrants on behalf of secular freedom and justice, not on behalf of religion, they are all deeply concerned. Why concern, why not joy that freedom is given a chance? Today, more than ever, Mao Zedong's old motto is pertinent: "There is great chaos under heaven -" the situation is excellent."
12:59 PM ET Mubarak did not resign from NDP. DN! senior producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous now talking about how Egyptians now hold their heads up with pride and how happy he is to be able to witness people in Egypt finding their voice.
Al Jazeera now reports on its live blog " the army is no longer negotiating to remove the protesters out off Tahrir Square, the army is still present around the square." For now, the situation seems calm.
DN! live broadcast ends.
12:14 PM ET Anjali Kamat, Democracy Now! correspondent, sharing
that these political will not appease protesters. A banner was unfolded
yesterday that had the protesters demands listed and they are: End to
draconian emergency laws, changes to the
constitutional government, free and fair elections and prosecution of
those
responsible for the deaths and violence over the past days.
Photo by 3arabawy11:05 AM ET Nobody wants to suggest horror will unfold today in Egypt if there isn't any evidence to suggest horror, but then again the situation has only really been safe for Egyptians and others if they are able to be in Tahrir Square.
Al Jazeera and al-Arabiya have been reporting on a flurry of political shuffling. President Hosni Mubarak reportedly stepping down from his position as head of the NDP ruling party. Gamal Mubarak, Hosni Mubarak's son, and Safwat ElSherif resigned from leadership in the NDP.
The Washington Post is reporting on a new nuance in the US position on the revolution in Egypt. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is reportedly urging " Egyptian demonstrators...to support their military-backed government's plan to lead a transition to democracy, warning that the alternative could be a power vacuum filled by radicals." [And, actually, Mubarak is becoming more and more regarded by Egyptians who are protesting as an agent of the US.]
1 | 2
