Protests enter 7th day as foreigners flee Egypt
Hundreds in Cairo's central square chant, pray and listen to speeches. Charter flights to evacuate U.S. citizens are supposed to begin.
By Edmund Sanders and Borzou Daragahi, Times Staff Writers
Reporting from Cairo —
Hundreds of protesters determined to drive Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from power launched a seventh day of noisy speeches, chanting and prayers Monday, as foreigners trying to flee the country mobbed Cairo's airport, only to find a rash of cancellations and delays.
The throngs spent all night in the plaza, worried that if they left the military might move to block access to Tahrir Square, which has become the epicenter of demonstrations. Noisy protesters alternated among speeches, prayers and anti-government chants. To keep warm, crowds huddled around small campfires and shared plastic cups of tea.
A widespread security vacuum caused by the conspicuous absence of police continued, despite reports that they would resume their posts. The country's uniformed and plainclothes domestic security forces battled violently with protesters during the uprising's initial days but then suddenly evacuated the city, leaving the army and bands of neighborhood vigilantes wielding clubs and knives in charge.
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The State Department said Sunday that it would begin evacuation flights for thousands of U.S. citizens in Egypt on Monday. The department has chartered planes for the evacuation, and believes it has the capacity to accommodate all who wish to go.
Demonstrations against Mubarak's rule began Jan. 25 after a popular uprising in the Arab nation of Tunisia drove longtime strongman Zine el Abidine ben Ali from power and paved the way to a transition toward democracy there. Mubarak has clung to power and resisted demonstrators' demand that he resign, instead shutting down access to the Al Jazeera channel, the Arab world's most popular news outlet, and blocking internet and cellphone traffic.
He swore in his intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, as his first-ever vice-president, named a new prime minister and issued vague promises of change that have even left his most ardent supporters in the West and Israel disappointed.
Protesters in Cairo, Alexandria and the city of Suez were outraged and continued their demonstrations, defying a curfew that has now been tightened to between 3 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The mostly young protesters and the country's traditional opposition groups, including the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, have coalesced around the loose leadership of Nobel Peace Prize winner and former International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei, who many say is a potential transitional figure if Mubarak steps down.
Protesters had called for a general strike Monday, but its effect was hard to gauge as banks, the stock exchange, offices and many shops were closed because of security worries.
On Tahrir Square, speakers with megaphones and voices hoarse from shouting took turns Monday keeping the crowds awake and energized. Many said it was important to stay loud and boisterous to counter reports on state-run media that everyone had gone home and the square was empty.
By morning, some wandered home, bleary-eyed, just as others came to replace them. In a grassy patch in the middle of the plaza, several protesters curled up in blankets and tried to get some sleep.
Relations with the military remained good, but protesters whistled and waved defiantly at helicopters that flew overhead periodically and rushed to stand in front of any tanks that attempted to reposition from the square's perimeter into the plaza itself. After initially welcoming the army, protesters have grown suspicious of its aims, worried that it will use its general popularity to further Mubarak's aim of reimposing control.
Protesters said momentum was on their side.
"We will stay until the entire world hears us," said Iman Zaki, who said he has been practically living on the streets since last week's protests began. "We can sleep when it's over."
Egypt is the Arab world's most populous nation and a linchpin to the Middle East's tenuous peace. Many analysts predict that Mubarak will ultimately be driven from power, a prospect that has inspired activists and shaken authorities across the Arab world and beyond.
"The winds of democracy and freedom that shook the entire world 20 years ago and were unable to penetrate the Arab states now seem to be blowing across the Arab world," Fahed Fanek, a columnist for Jordan's al-Rai daily newspaper, wrote Monday.
Even China, worried about its citizens being inspired by the uprisings, disabled searches for the word "Egypt" on some internet services, underscoring Beijing's continued concern over the Internet and its potential to access anti-government information and organize opposition to China's ruling Communist Party.
Hundreds in Cairo's central square chant, pray and listen to speeches. Charter flights to evacuate U.S. citizens are supposed to begin.
By Edmund Sanders and Borzou Daragahi, Times Staff Writers
Reporting from Cairo —
Hundreds of protesters determined to drive Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from power launched a seventh day of noisy speeches, chanting and prayers Monday, as foreigners trying to flee the country mobbed Cairo's airport, only to find a rash of cancellations and delays.
The throngs spent all night in the plaza, worried that if they left the military might move to block access to Tahrir Square, which has become the epicenter of demonstrations. Noisy protesters alternated among speeches, prayers and anti-government chants. To keep warm, crowds huddled around small campfires and shared plastic cups of tea.
A widespread security vacuum caused by the conspicuous absence of police continued, despite reports that they would resume their posts. The country's uniformed and plainclothes domestic security forces battled violently with protesters during the uprising's initial days but then suddenly evacuated the city, leaving the army and bands of neighborhood vigilantes wielding clubs and knives in charge.
Get dispatches from Times correspondents around the globe delivered to your inbox with our daily World newsletter. Sign up »
The State Department said Sunday that it would begin evacuation flights for thousands of U.S. citizens in Egypt on Monday. The department has chartered planes for the evacuation, and believes it has the capacity to accommodate all who wish to go.
Demonstrations against Mubarak's rule began Jan. 25 after a popular uprising in the Arab nation of Tunisia drove longtime strongman Zine el Abidine ben Ali from power and paved the way to a transition toward democracy there. Mubarak has clung to power and resisted demonstrators' demand that he resign, instead shutting down access to the Al Jazeera channel, the Arab world's most popular news outlet, and blocking internet and cellphone traffic.
He swore in his intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, as his first-ever vice-president, named a new prime minister and issued vague promises of change that have even left his most ardent supporters in the West and Israel disappointed.
Protesters in Cairo, Alexandria and the city of Suez were outraged and continued their demonstrations, defying a curfew that has now been tightened to between 3 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The mostly young protesters and the country's traditional opposition groups, including the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, have coalesced around the loose leadership of Nobel Peace Prize winner and former International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei, who many say is a potential transitional figure if Mubarak steps down.
Protesters had called for a general strike Monday, but its effect was hard to gauge as banks, the stock exchange, offices and many shops were closed because of security worries.
On Tahrir Square, speakers with megaphones and voices hoarse from shouting took turns Monday keeping the crowds awake and energized. Many said it was important to stay loud and boisterous to counter reports on state-run media that everyone had gone home and the square was empty.
By morning, some wandered home, bleary-eyed, just as others came to replace them. In a grassy patch in the middle of the plaza, several protesters curled up in blankets and tried to get some sleep.
Relations with the military remained good, but protesters whistled and waved defiantly at helicopters that flew overhead periodically and rushed to stand in front of any tanks that attempted to reposition from the square's perimeter into the plaza itself. After initially welcoming the army, protesters have grown suspicious of its aims, worried that it will use its general popularity to further Mubarak's aim of reimposing control.
Protesters said momentum was on their side.
"We will stay until the entire world hears us," said Iman Zaki, who said he has been practically living on the streets since last week's protests began. "We can sleep when it's over."
Egypt is the Arab world's most populous nation and a linchpin to the Middle East's tenuous peace. Many analysts predict that Mubarak will ultimately be driven from power, a prospect that has inspired activists and shaken authorities across the Arab world and beyond.
"The winds of democracy and freedom that shook the entire world 20 years ago and were unable to penetrate the Arab states now seem to be blowing across the Arab world," Fahed Fanek, a columnist for Jordan's al-Rai daily newspaper, wrote Monday.
Even China, worried about its citizens being inspired by the uprisings, disabled searches for the word "Egypt" on some internet services, underscoring Beijing's continued concern over the Internet and its potential to access anti-government information and organize opposition to China's ruling Communist Party.
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