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Originally posted by tribewilder
The people of Egypt have learned that they are more powerful than any of those in power when they band together. No leaders/opposition....just people... tired of the B.S.
My thoughts go out to them and I hope they show the rest of the world how to not only take a stand, but to overcome tyranny....
A former US ambassador to Egypt and to Israel, Martin Indyk, tells the BBC that successive US administrations have tried to warn Hosni Mubarak to take account of the wishes of his people, and says that Barack Obama's White House now appears to have no choice but to side with the Egyptian people.
The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Cairo reports: "Among the best signs, one that says simply: 'People shouldn't be afraid of their government, governments should be afraid of their peoples'."
# 1419: People are using loudspeakers to appeal for calm in Tahrir Square. The army also appears to have parked several lorries across one road near the Egyptian Museum to separate the pro- and anti-government demonstrators. They are still, however, throwing stones at each other. Soldiers have their weapons drawn and one is reportedly firing into the air. The BBC's Ian Pannell says the situation is still very volatile and very dangerous.
1426: Ola in Egypt writes: "Not only will Mubarak and the Egyptian military be blamed for any bloodshed that happens today, but also the western governments - Obama, the UK and the EU for sitting back and watching. For encouraging him to buy time while watching him use very low tactics."
The BBC's Magdi Abdelhadi says: "The power struggle at the top of the Egyptian establishment is no longer a secret. The legal measures against some of the most powerful people in the political hierarchy are the confirmation of a deep split within the ruling elite. It began over how to respond to the wave of protests demanding that President Mubarak should go. And it worsened as the protesters became more assertive, insisting that the president step down immediately. After his announcement that he wont seek re-election this autumn, the split became a struggle for survival."
The Egyptian state news agency reports that those former ministers prevented from leaving the country include ex-interior minister Habib al-Adly, former housing minister Ahmed el-Maghrabi and former tourism minister Zuhair Garana.
CAIRO – Thousands of state workers and impoverished Egyptians launched strikes and protests around the country on Wednesday over their economic woes as anti-government activists sought to expand their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak despite warnings from the vice president that protests won't be tolerated much longer.
Some 8,000 protesters, mainly farmers, set barricades of flaming palm trees in the southern province of Assiut, blocking the main highway and railway to Cairo to complain of bread shortages. They then drove off the governor by pelting his van with stones. Hundreds of slum dwellers in the Suez Canal city of Port Said set fire to part of the governor's headquarters in anger over lack of housing.
The vice-president made a very brief televised statement. He said Mr Mubarak was stepping down for the benefit of the republic.
Full statement from Vice-President Suleiman: "In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country. May God help everybody."