Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak just appeared on television, live, in what was apparently a pre-recorded message, to address the massive protests that have erupted throughout the country this week. At the end of his speech, which mostly addressed economic issues, he said he has asked the current government (meaning, basically, his cabinet) to resign, and says he will form a new one tomorrow. With him remaining in power as president.
Contrast this with the "demands" document widely distributed throughout Egypt today by demonstrators, translated here at manalaa.net…
People wanted to overthrow the regime
We are the masses in the sit in in Tahrir Square, who ignited the spark of the uprising against injustice and tyranny, where raised by the will of the people, the people who suffered 30 years of oppression, injustice and poverty under the rule of Mubarak, and his cronies in the National Party .
Egyptians have proven today that they are capable of extricating their freedom and destroying tyranny
The people's demands were vocalized today in their chants:
1. Mubarak's immediate stepping down from power.
2. The resignation of the cabinet.
3. the dissolution of the fraudulent parliament
4. The formation of a national government.We will continue to sit-in until our demands are met, and we call upon the masses all over Egypt and the trade unions, professional syndicates, political parties, and institutions to rise up and extricate these demands.
let us strike and sit-in and protest everywhere, untill we topple the regime
UPDATE: The New York Times has updated their lead story with coverage of Mubarak's speech.
PHOTO: Protesters carry a carpet with an image of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, with a shoe placed on it, in Suez January 28, 2011. Mubarak imposed a curfew and ordered troops to back up police as they struggled to control crowds who flooded the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities on Friday to demand that he step down. (REUTERS/Mohamed Abdel Ghany)
