Thursday, February 10, 2011

Mubarak Digs In - Vows To Stay Til September

Despite all the rumours earlier today that Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak would resign, he came out today to defiantly proclaim he's not going anywhere. 

Mubarak repeated his claim that he must remain president in order to preserve the constitution and "ensure the stability" of Egyptian society.   Not quite sure what Hosni's been smoking during his extended absence but it's hard to grasp how he can see himself as the key to Egyptian stability.

Following Mubarak, veep Omar Sulieman came on TV urging the demonstrators to go home and trying to assure them that, " a roadmap has been laid down to achieve the majority of demands."

There it is, at last, the dreaded "roadmap," a term that, in the context of the Middle East, has become synonymous with deadlock.

What remains to be seen is whether the army will uphold the promises made to the demonstrators earlier in the day.   How far will this go on before the army either turns on the Egyptian people or topples the Mubarak regime?  Were I Hosni, I think I'd be hiring a taster before I had too many more meals.

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