Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians marched peacefully in Cairo on Friday to demand an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, but there was no word of his generals, or his US allies, squeezing him out just yet. Hoping for a million-strong turnout nation-wide to mark what they called "Departure Day", men and women from across Egyptian society streamed past patient soldiers to join a crowd estimated at about 200,000 in the capital's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square.
Similar pro-democracy rallies were held in other cities. "Leave! Leave! Leave!" they chanted after weekly Friday prayers in Cairo. A cleric praised the "revolution of the young" and declared: "We want the head of the regime removed." There was a festive, weekend atmosphere as secular, middle-class professionals and pious, generally poorer, members of the mass Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, mingled, sang and chanted under banners and ubiquitous Egyptian flags. Members of the Christian minority were also taking part. "Game over" said one banner, in English for the benefit of international television channels beaming out live coverage.
The defence minister visited the square, inspecting troops who have promised to protect demonstrators. There was no sign of Mubarak loyalists who attacked protesters on previous days. "The army and people are united!" the crowds chanted. "Allahu akbar!" (God is greatest), some protesters cried after the prayers on Tahrir Square. Iran's supreme leader hailed an "Islamic liberation movement" in Egypt. Iran's anti-Western, Islamic revolution of 1979 against the repressive, US-funded shah has been cited by some in Israel and the West as creating a possible precedent for Egypt to turn into a major hostile force to Western power in the region if its 60-year-old military-backed secular system falls.
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