Photos: Uprising in Egypt
After a week of protests which saw several violent clashes between police and demonstrators, longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 82, announced Tuesday that he would not run for another term when elections are held later this year.
1 / 10
Not Seeking Another Term - After a week of protests which saw several violent clashes between police and demonstrators, longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 82, announced Tuesday that he would not run for another term when elections are held later this year. Though hundreds of thousands took to the streets of Cairo in the days leading up to the announcement demanding his immediate resignation, Mubarak insists the protests had nothing to do with his decision.
2 / 10
The U.S. Response - Under Mubarak’s leadership, Egypt was one of the United States’ few Arab allies, so the widely publicized protests against him put the U.S. in a tough position. According to reports though, the White House did urge Mubarak behind the scenes not to seek re-election. After Tuesday’s announcement, President Obama called for a smooth transition to a new government in a speech from the White House.
3 / 10
Still Angry - Protestors, who had been calling for President Mubarak to step down immediately, reacted angrily to his address as they watched it on a screen in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. “Leave, leave!” they chanted as some held up their shoes to the screen in insult. Wednesday morning, protestors remained with hundreds more coming to join them.
4 / 10
Army to Protestors: Go Home - With thousands of protestors still refusing to leave Cairo, the Egyptian army issued a plea on Wednesday morning for a return to normalcy in the nation. “Your message has arrived, your demands became known,” said an army spokesman. “We ask you to go home not because we are a superior power. We ask you kindly.”
5 / 10
The Uprising - The demonstrations were sparked Jan. 25 by a smaller protest in front of the Supreme Court building. Protesters called for Mubarak, who has been in power for 30 years, to step down. Since last week, protests in capital city Cairo grew each day by the thousands, and often resulted in confrontations with the police. Public discontent had been growing over the past several months, as shown by smaller protests over food prices, poverty, police brutality and alleged government corruption.
ADVERTISEMENT