M A I N   N E W S

Mubarak buckles, says he will quit by Sept
Protesters say NO, adamant on Friday deadline
Go home, Army tells Cairo protesters

Cairo, February 2
Buckling under pressure, embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak today agreed to quit office by September on completion of his term, an offer which was rejected by protesters who said he had till Friday to leave.

A defiant Mubarak went on television to announce that he would not contest the September presidential election, but would not step down immediately, an offer which failed to calm public fury as clashes erupted between his supporters and opponents in major cities.

“I say in all honesty and regardless of the current situation, that I did not intend to nominate myself for a new presidential term,” an unfazed Mubarak said.

Mubarak made his promise after heavy pressure from his strongest ally, the US. His address beamed over giant TV screens on the Tahrir Square - the hub of anti-government protests in heart of Cairo - was greeted by boos and jeers by the mammoth crowd who chanted “Go Go Go Now Mubarak.”

In his 10-minute address, 82-year-old Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt uninterrupted for three decades, said he would not flee the country. “I will die on Egyptian soil,” he said.

The President, who appeared to be somber, said he would serve the remaining part of his term to accomplish necessary steps for peaceful transfer of power and carry out amendments to the rules of Presidential elections.

Mubarak spoke to President Barack Obama for 30 minutes prior to his going on air. In what appeared to be a snub to Mubarak’s plan to cling to power, Obama called for immediate beginning of an orderly transition in Egypt. “I indicated tonight to President Mubarak... that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now,” he said.

The protest leaders immediately rejected Mubarak’s offer and served him an ultimatum to quit before Friday. Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said Mubarak’s speech was as an “act of deception”. “If he does not heed the call to leave power... he would be a dead man walking,” ElBaradei said as the protesters vowed not to leave the streets until Mubarak steps down. — PTI