Elation for Egyptians after 30 Years of Mulish Mubarak

TODAY came the words the majority of Egyptians had long been waiting for: President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down from the presidency. After 24 hours of stress, suspicion and speculation, the news was broken by the Egyptian Vice President, Omar Suleiman, in an incredibly short , succinct statement on Egyptian state television around 6pm local time. Almost instantaneously, a massive crowd of protesters marched on the Egyptian State Television headquarters in Cairo, waving with pride Egyptian flags, heralding the start of what could be a new era of politics for Egypt and it's residents. 


The protesters then made their way to Tahrir Square in central Cairo, where they joined the thousands of protesters who had been gathered for weeks on end in the Square, pushing for democracy in Egypt. The scenes in Tahrir Square well and truly reflected what the Square stood for: Liberation. The buzzing atmosphere of the Square bought home the idea of change and freedom, something the Egyptians had long waited for, since the enforcement of the state of emergency 43 years ago. 


Ironically, 32 years to the day, the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, led to the overthrow of Shahenshah Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and 21 years ago today, Nelson Mandela was freed from the rule of Apartheid. It would seem today is the day which screams out revolution and freedom in its every second, minute and hour. 


In the short statement made by Suleiman, he confirmed that Mubarak had handed over power to the military. Now that the protesters have achieved their aim of overthrowing Mubarak, it can be predicted that the military will try to crack down on any troublemakers henceforth. We must not forget that the military were once loyal to Mubarak, and he did mention in his speech yesterday that the perpetrators of the protests and violence "would be dealt with" and he condemned the death of over 300 people as a result of the violence which surfaced during some of the protesting taking place in different parts of the country, such as Suez. 


We can now only speculate as to what Mubarak's next move will be, that is if he has one. But the key question here is: Is there more to this than just a simple step-down from power of a man so stubborn, that his whole rule was conducted under a state of emergency? Or is this really his final salute to over sixty years of service to his country?