Vienna–Prominent Egyptian reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei said he expected large demonstrations across Egypt on Friday and that the time had come for President Hosni Mubarak to leave power.
"He has served the country for 30 years and it is about time for him to retire," ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, told Reuters shortly before he was due to leave Vienna for Cairo on Thursday.
"I think he has to declare that he is not going to run again [for president]," ElBaradei, who lives in Vienna, said in the telephone interview. His arrival in Cairo could inspire protesters who have no figurehead, although many activists resent his long absences over past months.
"Tomorrow is going to be, I think, a major demonstration all over Egypt and I will be there with them," ElBaradei said, calling for peaceful protests.
"People broke the culture of fear and once you break the culture of fear there’s no going back," he said.
ElBaradei launched a campaign for change last year, raising hopes that his international stature could galvanize the opposition.
But many activists have since complained that he should have spent more time on the street than abroad.
"I will be with them in the protests but I'm not the person who will lead [demonstrations] in the street … my job is to manage the change politically," ElBaradei told Reuters.
