• by Aprille Muscara (washington)
• Friday, February 11, 2011
• Inter Press Service

After 30 years in power, a handful of assassination attempts, the historical backing of five United States presidencies, 68 billion dollars in U.S. aid and 18 consecutive days of massive, pro-democracy demonstrations, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak finally ceded power Friday, leaving observers in Washington wondering what happens next.

'[T]his is not the end of Egypt's transition,' said U.S. President Barack Obama hours after Mubarak's resignation was announced. 'It's a beginning. I'm sure there will be difficult days ahead and many questions remain unanswered.'

'But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers and do so peacefully, constructively and in the spirit of unity that has defined these last few weeks, for Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day,' he added.

In a statement made on state television Friday evening local time, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had decided to 'waive' his presidency and had 'instructed the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to run the affairs of the country.'

Arab media outlets also reported that the military leadership dismissed Mubarak's cabinet and both houses of parliament.

The council issued a communiqué shortly after Suleiman's announcement — its third in three days — stating that the legitimacy of the Egyptian people is placed above all else and that further statements would be issued outlining the next steps in the transition process.

It also paid tribute to the martyrs of the popular unrest — the United Nations estimates that some 300 people have been killed in the demonstrations — and saluted Mubarak for his service.

'The military has served patriotically and responsibly as a caretaker to the state and will now have to ensure a transition that is credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people,' Obama said. 'That means protecting the rights of Egypt's citizens, lifting the emergency law, revising the constitution and other laws to make this change irreversible and laying out a clear path to elections that are fair and free.'

In a communiqué released Thursday, after a speech by Mubarak in which he vowed to remain in power until the fall elections despite mounting expectations that he would resign that evening, the council pledged to guarantee such steps.

'We must also urge the unequivocal rejection of any involvement by the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremists who may seek to exploit and hijack these events to gain power, oppress the Egyptian people, and do great harm to Egypt's relationship with the United States, Israel, and other free nations,' said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, in a statement Friday.

While some conservative lawmakers and commentators have warned against the role of the Muslim Brotherhood, fearing an Islamist takeover, others claim that this alarm is exaggerated and unfounded.

Protesters have repeatedly stressed the non-violent, decentralised and secular nature of their demonstrations, while administration officials and analysts have urged wide and representative participation in discussions about political reform.

'Above all, this transition must bring all of Egypt's voices to the table,' Obama said in his televised statement.

But after Friday's apparent coup, all eyes seem to be on the junta in charge and how it plans to move forward. Will it allow civilian participation in the governance of the country? Will it accelerate or delay the fall presidential elections? Will it permit new parliamentary elections?

Prominent members of the Supreme Council include Suleiman, former intelligence chief and overseer of the CIA's controversial extraordinary renditions programme in Egypt; defence minister Hussein Tantawi, who visited Tahrir (Liberation) Square on Feb. 4 and was the first government official to do so; and Sami Hafez Anan, chief of staff of the armed forces who was in Washington meeting with senior U.S. defence officials when the protests first began.

'The West may be worried that the crisis will bring democracy too quickly to Egypt and empower the Muslim Brotherhood,' wrote Ellis Goldberg, political scientist at the University of Washington and the American University in Cairo, in 'Foreign Affairs' Friday. 'But the real concern is that the regime will only shed its corrupt civilians, leaving its military component as the only player left standing.'

'Today, the army presents itself as a force of order and a neutral arbiter between contending opponents, but it has significant interests of its own to defend, and it is not, in fact, neutral,' Goldberg argued.

'A more open political system and a responsive government that ensures its own safety by trimming back the power and privileges of the military could still emerge,' he predicted. 'More likely, however, is the culmination of the slow-motion coup and the return of the somewhat austere military authoritarianism of decades past.'

But Steve Clemons, founder and senior fellow of the New America Foundation's American Strategy Programme, noted that the Egyptian military is 'an institution in which the public has faith' in a statement Friday.

'Now the command staff of Egypt's army must move immediately to create a broadly inclusive political 'stewardship council' that includes previously branded opponents of the regime in order to maintain public trust,' he said.

Opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei told media outlets Friday that he supported a one-year transitional period ruled by a power-sharing council composed of civilians and military officials.

'This is the liberation of the Egyptian people,' he told Al Jazeera English. '[W]e should be a stable country, a democratic country… Unity is crucial at this stage.'

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service