Kahn
February 10th, 2011, 11:12 PM
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Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Protesters in Egypt, rowdy with revolutionary fervor, dug in for an 18th day of demonstrations Friday, one day after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down.
In a highly anticipated speech, Mubarak clung to the presidency but said he would "delegate powers" to Vice President Omar Suleiman according to the constitution -- a major concession from the man who has ruled Egypt with an iron grip for 30 years.
His speech, however, enraged protesters in Tahrir Square, who want Mubarak to leave now. Packed in like sardines and showing no sign of giving up, many said they were spending the night in the square for the first time since the protests began. The mood of the crowd was relentlessly upbeat, even at 3 a.m..
A splinter group of demonstrators marched to the presidential palace, where the military maintains a strong presence. Another group rallied in front of a state television building.
Massive street demonstrations are expected on Friday.
"Get out! Get out!" angry protesters chanted as Mubarak spoke.
After the the president's speech,parliamentary speaker Ahmed Fathi Srour told state-run Nile TV that Mubarak's move had put the authority for the day-to-day running of the government in Suleiman's hands. That would include oversight of the police, the Interior Ministry and other key agencies, control of economic policy and running any negotiations with the opposition.
Srour echoed Mubarak's statement in adding that the constitution specifically prohibits the president from delegating other key powers to the vice president. As a result, the power to dismiss parliament or dismiss the government and the power to ask for amendments to the constitution remain in Mubarak's hands, not Suleiman's.
"The vice president is the de facto president," Egypt's ambassador to the United States, Sameh Shoukry, told CNN, shortly after Mubarak spoke.
Protesters watched Mubarak's speech on screens hoisted above their heads in Tahrir Square. Quiet at first, they waited to hear what he would say. When it became clear the president would not stand down, they erupted.
"Illegitimate!" they cried. "Mubarak, the coward, must stand down!"
"Everyone's lost," Khalid Abdalla, a demonstrator in the square and star of the motion picture "The Kite Runner," said after the president's speech. "People are trying to work out what more they can do."
Sauce (http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/10/egypt.protests/index.html?hpt=T1)
http://i55.tinypic.com/m91028.png
http://i54.tinypic.com/nqct9t.png
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Protesters in Egypt, rowdy with revolutionary fervor, dug in for an 18th day of demonstrations Friday, one day after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down.
In a highly anticipated speech, Mubarak clung to the presidency but said he would "delegate powers" to Vice President Omar Suleiman according to the constitution -- a major concession from the man who has ruled Egypt with an iron grip for 30 years.
His speech, however, enraged protesters in Tahrir Square, who want Mubarak to leave now. Packed in like sardines and showing no sign of giving up, many said they were spending the night in the square for the first time since the protests began. The mood of the crowd was relentlessly upbeat, even at 3 a.m..
A splinter group of demonstrators marched to the presidential palace, where the military maintains a strong presence. Another group rallied in front of a state television building.
Massive street demonstrations are expected on Friday.
"Get out! Get out!" angry protesters chanted as Mubarak spoke.
After the the president's speech,parliamentary speaker Ahmed Fathi Srour told state-run Nile TV that Mubarak's move had put the authority for the day-to-day running of the government in Suleiman's hands. That would include oversight of the police, the Interior Ministry and other key agencies, control of economic policy and running any negotiations with the opposition.
Srour echoed Mubarak's statement in adding that the constitution specifically prohibits the president from delegating other key powers to the vice president. As a result, the power to dismiss parliament or dismiss the government and the power to ask for amendments to the constitution remain in Mubarak's hands, not Suleiman's.
"The vice president is the de facto president," Egypt's ambassador to the United States, Sameh Shoukry, told CNN, shortly after Mubarak spoke.
Protesters watched Mubarak's speech on screens hoisted above their heads in Tahrir Square. Quiet at first, they waited to hear what he would say. When it became clear the president would not stand down, they erupted.
"Illegitimate!" they cried. "Mubarak, the coward, must stand down!"
"Everyone's lost," Khalid Abdalla, a demonstrator in the square and star of the motion picture "The Kite Runner," said after the president's speech. "People are trying to work out what more they can do."
Sauce (http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/10/egypt.protests/index.html?hpt=T1)