Egypt: Standoff Continues Between Demonstrators And Government
By MISNA
The protest in Egypt has entered a 16th straight day and has not eased in intensity. Various sources in facts say that the number of protesters occupying Cairo’s Tahrir square are increasing by the day.
Hundreds of thousands of people yesterday crowded not only the streets of Cairo, but also Mahalla, Suez and Alexandria.
The demand of the protesters remains unchanged: the immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.
An intervention yesterday on Tahrir square of Google Inc executive Wael Ghonim, an activist and blogger who was released on Monday after spending a few weeks in prison, drew significant attention, because considered a leader of a new generation who demand change. Ghonim is believed to be the author of a Facebook page that inspired the demonstrations and his confidence and outspokenness has brought many to the streets.
The government is increasingly using as a spokesperson the Vice President and former intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, who claims to be open to dialogue with the opposition, but excludes the early resignation of Mubarak, whose term ends in September.
After the state TV in the past days began giving voice to the protestors, airing footage of the square and anti-government chants, also the al Ahram newspaper, formally close to the central powers, has begin giving coverage to the revolt.
