The uprising in Egypt isn't coming to a conclusion yet because its goals have yet to be realized. Now with Hosni Mubarak gone the protests are entering a second stage.
Military falls out with protesters over Egypt's path to democracy New leadership resists pressure from activists to hand power to civilian administration Egypt's new military administration and the pro-democracy protesters who brought down Hosni Mubarak were at odds today over the path to democratic rule.
The army sought to stave off pressure from jubilant protesters to swiftly hand power to a civilian-led administration by saying that it is committed to a "free democratic state".
The military leadership gave no timetable for the political transition, and many of the demonstrators who filled Cairo's Tahrir square for 18 days rejected the military's appeal to dismantle the barricades and go home.
The protesters have good reason not to sand down and put their trust to the Army's Leadership to move the country toward democratic reforms. This comes from Robert Fisk in Cairo.
Robert Fisk: Full circle on Tahrir Square as history comes in gulps So the Egyptian Revolution lay in the hands of the army last night as a series of contradictory statements from the military indicated that Egypt's field marshals, generals and brigadiers were competing for power in the ruins of Mubarak's regime. Israel, according to prominent Cairo military families, was trying to persuade Washington to promote their favourite Egyptian – former intelligence capo and Vice-President Omar Suleiman – to the presidency, while Field Marshal Tantawi, the defence minister, wanted his chief of staff, General Sami Anan, to run the country.
Yet if they have discarded the rais – the President – the military's high command are men of the old order. Indeed, most of the army's highest-ranking officers were long ago sucked into the nexus of regime power. In Mubarak's last government, the vice- president was a general, the prime minister was a general, the deputy prime minister was a general, the minister of defence was a general and the minister of interior was a general. Mubarak himself was commander of the air force. The army brought Nasser to power. They supported General Anwar Sadat. They supported General Mubarak. The army introduced dictatorship in 1952 and now the protesters believe it will become the agency of democracy. Some hope.
Thus – sadly – Egypt is the army and the army is Egypt. Or so, alas, it likes to think. It therefore wishes to control – or "protect", as army communiqués constantly reiterate – the protesters demanding the final departure of Mubarak. But Egypt's hundreds of thousands of democratic revolutionaries – enraged by Mubarak's refusal to abandon the presidency – started their own takeover of Cairo yesterday, overflowing from Tahrir Square, not only around the parliament building but the Nile-side state television and radio headquarters and main highways leading to Mubarak's luxurious residency in the wealthy suburb of Heliopolis. Thousands of demonstrators in Alexandria reached the very gates of one of Mubarak's palaces where the presidential guard handed over water and food in a meek gesture of "friendship" for the people. Protesters also took over Talaat Haab Square in the commercial centre of Cairo as hundreds of academics from the city's three main universities marched to Tahrir at mid-morning.
Egypt army as steward of transition in question From the L.A. Times.
Two members of the Supreme Council appeared at the center of the current drama. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the defense minister, and Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Enan, chief of staff of the armed forces, both gained credibility by mingling with protesters at Tahrir Square, and more important, ordering soldiers not to fire on the demonstrators.
But neither officer has governed before, and both are considered fierce protectors of the status quo.
U.S. officials say Enan is believed to be more willing to maintain close ties to America. He was visiting Washington for a week of Pentagon meetings when the protests erupted in Cairo on Jan. 25.
Enan rushed home but has kept in touch with Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. The two last spoke by phone Thursday when Mubarak appeared intent on clinging to power, according to a spokesman for Mullen.
Tantawi is the head of the military council. He spoke by phone Saturday with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, the Pentagon said. Tantawi also spoke with Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, according to Israel's Channel 1.
The conversation with Gates was the two men's sixth since the crisis began,...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UPDATE:
Egypt army tries to clear Tahrir Scuffles have broken out in Cairo's Tahrir Square as soldiers tried to remove activists from the epicentre of Egypt's uprising which resulted in the president stepping down.
Hundreds of protesters remained in the square on Sunday and organisers said they would not leave until more of their demands are met.
Meanwhile, normality was slowly returning to the rest of Egypt, at the start of the first working day since Hosni Mubarak was toppled during the weekend.
Soldiers shoved pro-democracy protesters aside to force a path for traffic to start flowing through Tahrir Square for the first time in more than two weeks.
The tents, where protesters camped out during the 18 days of protests, were removed.
Protester Ashraf Ahmed said the military could tear down his tent, but that he was not going to leave "because so much still needs to be done. They haven't implemented anything yet.''
I expect that the second phase of the uprising in Egypt is going to be even more perilous than the first phase. I hope that in the end Egypt will emerge without the remnants of Mubarak's old guard in control, in a position to rig the upcoming election and preserve their Kleptocracy. Pro-democracy forces in Algeria are wrestling with the same predicament.