Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has left, according to his Vice President. Crowds in Cairo, who have been booing him for the past 18 days, are now cheering.
But they should stop for a minute and think. How did this happen? First, he made various promises only to see the crowds rejecting them. Then, he promised to step down, only not just yet. And finally, he did step down, of sorts – announcing it through Vice President Omar Suleiman, who also said he gave power to the military.
So ... yes, the man may have stepped down. But the regime is still intact. The military has been, on the face of it, neutral in this protest – looming menacingly over it, but not intervening. Meanwhile, protesters in Cairo don’t know what decisions were taken and what options were discussed during the 18 days and what the military was promised.
I can hardly believe the army just contended themselves with baby-sitting the demonstrators, hoping they’ll just one day get bored and leave. Or, having seen their request satisfied, that they will leave and let the authorities go about their business.
Egyptians protested against Mubarak. He’s now gone, but the whole regime is still in place. 18 days is a long time to plan succession and spoils - if I were in Cairo, I’d ask: what really has changed?
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