JNN 12 Feb 2011 : Pro-democracy activists in Egypt and and Egyptian expatriates have taken to the streets around the world to celebrate the ouster of Hosni Mubarak following 18 days of mass protests in the North African country.
New Yorkers held a victory rally on Saturday, joining celebrations following Mubarak’s ouster in Egypt, Our New York correspondent reported.
Many of the rallies were called by human rights organization Amnesty International.
In the US, several other cities including San Francisco and Washington, DC were the sites of joyous scenes on Saturday, celebrating the end of the 30-year-old tyranny in Egypt.
The biggest rally took place in London, where several thousand people gathered in the historic Trafalgar Square.
Similar but smaller gatherings were held in Gaza and the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Madrid. Moreover, about a hundred Egyptians and other activists rallied outside the Egyptian embassy in Brussels.
Amnesty says there were also victory rallies in Australia, Canada, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland.
After 18 days of million-man-strong protests across Egypt, The Mubarak-designated vice president of the country, Omar Suleiman, announced Friday that the longtime US-sponsored ruler had abandoned presidency and handed over power to the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces.
Second Phase of the Protest
One day after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, thousands of protesters have vowed to stay in Cairo’s Liberation Square until their demands are met.
Activists have demanded the release of political prisoners, the lifting of a 30-year-old state of emergency and the disbandment of military court. They say demonstrations will continue until the army accepts the reforms.
Political groups are also calling for the formation of a government led by civilians.
The Muslim Brotherhood says the military should hand over power to a civilian-led government.
A senior Muslim Brotherhood official, Rashad Bayoumi, said a civilian government must run the country until free and fair elections are held.
He also called for a constitution that guarantees freedom and human rights.
Meanwhile, the April 6th Youth movement also called for the formation of a civilian-led presidential council to run the country during the transition period.
The call came after Mubarak handed power over to the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces, which is headed by Defense Minister Gen. Mohammed Tantawi.
The transition of power to the military comes while Mubarak, Vice President Omar Suleiman and Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq are all former military men. Analysts believe despite the transition Mubarak would still remain in power.
This is while millions of Egyptians have for the past 19 days called for the departure of Mubarak and the establishment of a democratic government.
Experts say the Egyptian revolution may fail to bring about reforms unless the military establishment is taken over by a civilian-led government.
“We have succeeded in a very important step which is getting rid of [President Hosni] Mubarak. But Mubarak for the past five years has not been governing this country. He’s been sitting in Sharm el-Sheikh where he is now, a political analyst, told on Friday.
He added that Mubarak “hardly ever comes to Cairo. It (Egypt) has been run by Vice President General Omar Suleiman who was vice president until a couple of hours ago, may still be. It was run, from security point of view and from a foreign policy point of view by Omar Suleiman. He is a close friend of the Israelis and of the Americans. Nothing has changed.”
He further said that the Egyptian revolution “is only the very beginning of a long process. We must be sure that we have civilian rule and not military rule. We must be sure that the remnants of this regime that are still in positions of power do not remain in these positions.”
Army showing its Muscle after the Coup
Egypt’s army has clashed with protesters that refuse to leave Cairo’s Liberation Square two days after the US-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power.
Soldiers on Sunday scuffled with thousands of protesters camping out in the Square, the focal point of massive rallies that brought down Mubarak on Friday, Our correspondent reported.
Shouting slogans, protesters fought street battles with soldiers forcing them to back away, the report added.
The protesters, remaining in Cairo’s central Liberation Square on Saturday night, warned of holding further rallies if the military fails to fulfill its promise of a peaceful transition of power to a democratic civilian system.
The military promised “a peaceful transition of power” to an elected civilian government on Saturday in order to build “a free democratic state.”
However, the new military leadership did not set a timetable to fulfill the pledge.
Thousands of protesters vowed to remain on the major landmark until their demands are met.
Activists have demanded the release of political prisoners, the lifting of a 30-year-old state of emergency and the disbandment of military courts. They say demonstrations will continue until the army accepts the reforms.
According to the United Nations, the Egyptian revolution left more than 300 people dead and thousands more injured.
Reports say the Egyptian military has secretly detained hundreds and possibly thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators since protests erupted on January 25 demanding Mubarak’s ouster.
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