Anti-government protesters in
Protesters in central
Hundreds of protesters took off their shoes and brandished them at the screen on which they had seen Mubarak’s speech, a grave insult in Arab societies, and others chanted: “Down with Mubarak! Leave, leave!”
Many of the protesters called for an immediate general strike and angrily addressed the army, which had deployed large numbers of troops and tanks around the protest: “Egyptian army, the choice is now, the regime or the people!”
As they began peacefully filing out of the square, the chants grew darker.
“To the palace we are heading, martyrs by the millions!” they shouted.
Earlier, the square had been bathed in a carnival atmosphere, as many tens of thousands of Egyptians gathered to celebrate what they hoped would be Mubarak’s final speech of a three-decade-long autocratic reign.
But instead, the strongman delegated his powers to his vice president and former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. He said he would remain leader through a transition process until September and would one day die in
The crowd chanted “Neither Mubarak nor Suleiman!” as one elderly woman in the crowd moaned: “The old man just won’t give up power.”
Supermarket worker Rahman Gamal, 30, said: “Omar Suleiman and Mubarak are the same. They are two faces of the same coin. Our first demand is that he leave. If he doesn’t leave, I won’t leave.”
“He is still speaking to us as if we were fools,” said Ali Hassan, another protester. “He is a general defeated on the battlefield who will not retreat before inflicting as many casualties as he can.”
Thousands of the protesters have been occupying the square since January 28, demanding democratic reform and an end to the Mubarak regime.
They have set up a sprawling tented encampment, surrounding by a cordon of troops and tanks.
Egyptian prosecutors filed formal charges yesterday against three former ministers and a prominent businessman of abusing their position to enrich themselves and misusing public money, state TV said.
Legal measures began against former tourism minister Zuhair Garana, former trade and industry minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid, former tourism minister Ahmed al-Maghrabi and Ahmed Ezz, owner of Ezz Steel, after an uprising against President Hosni Mubarak’s rule erupted on January 25. The ministers lost their jobs when Mubarak sacked his cabinet on January 29.
They were intended as concessions to a public partly seen as angry over corruption within the ruling elite. Ezz was a senior figure in the ruling National Democratic Party, which was purged of its leadership last week. As a member of parliament, he has enjoyed immunity from prosecution.
Authorities banned all four, plus former interior minister Habib el-Adli, from travel while investigations were under way and froze their bank accounts.
Rachid has denied wrongdoing. Ezz Steel said in statement this week that Ezz strongly denied the accusations levelled at him and the investigation was a personal matter that would not affect the operations of the company.
The other men have yet to comment.
Adli appeared before military prosecutors this week and may face charges of withdrawing security forces from the streets during the uprising, ordering live fire on protesters and releasing prisoners from jail.
After battling massive protests around the country on January 28, security forces suddenly disappeared from the streets of
State television said Garana was accused of giving state land to a well-known tourist company as an incentive for it investing in his own firm, Garana Tourism, which was facing financial difficulties.
State news agency MENA said Ezz was accused of illegally taking control of state-owned al-Dekheila Steel which then supplied his Ezz Steel firm with steel at reduced prices, costing al-Dekheila heavy losses.
MENA said Maghrabi had sold a loss-making hotel in
It said Rachid used more than 200mn Egyptian pounds ($34mn) from a government export development fund for the benefit of companies he and his family owned and represented.