Addressing over 10,000 protesters who gathered in Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Sunday evening, prominent opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei reiterated demands that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak give up power. We have entered a "new era" in Egyptian history, he said, adding that the country requires nothing less than the "regime's departure."
Earlier on Sunday in an interview with CNN, ElBaradei said that if Hosni Mubarak wants to "save his skin" he should leave today.
"Leave in dignity before things get out of hand," he said, in implicit warning that chaos in Egypt would intensify if Mubarak refused to leave.
He spoke in a defiant tone two days after police forces deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse a protest led by the Nobel prize laureate. Later the same day, police forces withdrew from the capital and the army intervened.
After the police left, widespread looting and vandalism was reported, including at the Egyptian museum, one of Egypt's most prominent landmarks.
The police have received orders to return to Cairo tomorrow. They are expected to take up positions in all the city's areas except in Tahrir Square.
In implied criticism of the role of the United States in supporting the Egyptian president for many years, ElBaradei labeled Mubarak's rule "30 years of brutal dictatorship supported by everyone in the name of stability."
He sent a clear warning to the 82-year-old president who has ruled the country through Emergency Law. "We have seen a history of what happens to dictators… I wouldn't like to see that happen in Egypt," he said.
Egypt was swept by protests for the sixth consecutive day on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets this week demanding the ousting of Mubarak's regime.
Mubarak has so far refused to heed protesters' demand that he resign. In a speech to the nation on Friday, the president appeared content to sack the cabinet while maintaining his grip on power.
On Sunday Mubarak held talks with Vice President Omar Suleiman–whose appointment on Saturday has possibly set the scene for a transition in power–along with Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Chief of Staff Sami al-Anan and other senior commanders.
Meanwhile warplanes and helicopters flew over Tahrir Square and by late afternoon extra army trucks appeared in an apparent attempt to enforce a curfew through a show of military force.
"Hosni Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, both of you are agents of the Americans," shouted protesters.
The appointment of intelligence chief Suleiman as vice president was the first time Mubarak has appointed a deputy.
It was the position Mubarak, a key US ally, held before he become president and many saw the appointment as ending his son Gamal's long-predicted ambitions to take over and as an attempt to reshape the administration to placate reformists.
Clearly those in Tahrir Square did not wish to see Mubarak's ruling structure replaced by a military line-up featuring his closest cronies. "Mubarak, Mubarak, the plane awaits," said demonstrators, intent on getting rid of the old guard.
The turmoil, in which more than 100 people have died, has sent shock waves through the Middle East where other autocratic rulers may face similar challenges, and unsettled financial markets around the globe as well as Egypt's allies in the West.
The final straw seems to have been parliamentary elections in November last year, which observers said authorities rigged to exclude the opposition and secure Mubarak's ruling party a rubber-stamp parliament.
The military response to the crisis has been ambivalent. Troops now guard key buildings after police lost control of the streets, but have neglected to enforce a curfew, often fraternizing with protesters rather than confronting them.
It remains to be seen if the armed forces will keep Mubarak in power, or decide he is a liability to Egypt's national interests, and their own. It was also unclear if Mubarak had decided to talk with the generals or if he was summoned by them.
It was Tunisian generals who persuaded former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee last month after weeks of protests.
The crisis deepened on Sunday with Egyptians facing lawlessness on the streets with security forces and citizens trying to stop rampaging looters.
