Mubarak promises reforms to the constitution, particularly Article 76, which makes it virtually impossible for independent candidates to run for office. He says his government will focus on improving the economy and providing jobs. US President Barack Obama praises the Egyptian military for their patriotism and for allowing peaceful demonstrations. He says only the Egyptian people can determine their leaders.
Thousands more take to the streets throughout Egypt, including in Alexandria and Suez. The army is still deployed with tanks throughout different positions in and around Tahrir Square. The Los Angeles Times reports that the Boston entrepreneur Hadid Habbab has called for volunteers to help find his missing friend, Google executive Wael Ghonim, who went missing during the protests of the past week.
Internet services are at least partially restored in Cairo after a five-day blackout aimed at stymieing protests. Violent clashes rage for much of the day around Tahrir Square in central Cairo. Pro-democracy protesters say the military allowed thousands of pro-Mubarak supporters, armed with sticks and knives, to enter the square. February 3: Bursts of heavy gunfire early aimed at anti-government demonstrators in Tahrir [Liberation] Square, leave at least five people dead and several more wounded, according to reports from Cairo.
Sustained bursts of automatic weapons fire and powerful single shots begin at around around 4am local time GMT and continue for more than an hour. Chants urging Hosni Mubarak to leave reverberate across the square, as the country enters its eleventh day of unrest and mass demonstrations. February 5: Thousands who remain inside Tahrir Square fear an approaching attempt by the military to evacuate the square. The Egyptian health minister says 11 people have died, while the United Nations says people may have been killed across the country since protests began.
News agencies have counted more than dead in morgues in Alexandria, Suez and Cairo. The new secretary-general of the party is Hossam Badrawi, seen as a member of the liberal wing of the party. Banks officially re-open for 3. Al Jazeera correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin is detained by the Egyptian military. Protests continue in Tahrir Square; there are reports of gunshots fired by the army into the air near the cordon set up inside the barricades, near the Egyptian museum.
Leaked US diplomatic cables suggest Omar Suleiman, the vice-president, long sought to demonise the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in his contacts with skeptical US officials. Reports say Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, spoke with Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafiq on February 5 , emphasising the need to ensure the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people are met, also stressing that incidents of harassment and detention of activists and journalists must stop.
February 7: Thousands are camping out in Tahrir Square, refusing to budge. While banks have reopened, schools and the stock exhange remain closed. A symbolic funeral procession is held for journalist Ahmed Mahmoud, shot as he filmed the clashes between protesters and riot police from his Cairo office.
Protesters are demanding an investigation into the cause of his death. Wael Ghonim, a Google executive and political activist arrested by state authorities, is released; some see him as a potential figurehead for the pro-democracy camp. February 8: Protesters continue to gather at Tahrir Square, which now resembles a tented camp.
Protesters in the capital also gather to protest outside parliament. The city sees possibly the biggest crowd of demonstrators, including Egyptians who have returned from abroad and other newcomers mobilised by the release of activist Wael Ghonim.
Separately, Suleiman also announces a slew of constitutional and legislative reforms, to be undertaken by yet to be formed committees. Ban Ki-moon, the UN chief, says genuine dialogue is needed to end the current crisis, adding that a peaceful transition is crucial. February 9: Labour unions join protesters in the street, with some of them calling for Mubarak to step down while others simply call for better pay.
Masssive strikes start rolling throughout the country. Hosni previously made statements telling the demonstrators to leave the square, saying that Mubarak had offered them concessions. Thirty-four political prisoners, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, were released on Tuesday, according to Egyptian state television. Based on visits to a number of hospitals in Egypt, the organisation says that records show the death toll has reached in Cairo, 52 in Alexandria and 18 in Suez.
Attributing the information to Egyptian security officials, Reuters reports that several protesters suffered gunshot wounds and one was killed when 3, protesters took to the streets in Wadi al-Jadid, where clashes from the previous nights carried over to the early hours.
Citing medics, AFP news agency reports five were dead and are wounded in the clashes that have been going on for two days. He was the only new face in the new cabinet. The committee will receive reports from citizens and civil society organisations and then present a report to the public prosecutor. Many believed the square in the heart of the capital was not just a symbol, but a tool; Tahrir Square will be always there, they thought. We all know the way to Tahrir.
If we want change, we fill it again and change will come. When Mubarak stepped down, he handed power over to the military. That wasn't the outcome that many of the protesters envisioned, and thousands remained in the streets, demanding a transition to a new civilian government. Clashes between military forces and the protesters quickly saw the chants in the streets change from, "the army and the people are one hand," to "down with military rule.
A majority of Egyptians grew tired of protests, strikes, unrest, chaos and the dire economic situation — tired of the revolution. But Islamists, who want religion to serve as a frame of reference for government and society, seized on the unrest and their role in the uprising against Mubarak to make their way into power. National elections gave them a majority in parliament and, in , Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood — an organization whose slogan is "Islam is the solution" — won the presidency by a thin margin.
It was taking on the old regime, the military that didn't really have the intention of giving up power, and the Islamists who saw a chance to seize power," Ammar Ali Hassan, a novelist and socio-political researcher, told CBS News.
The Islamists' narrative played heavily on the sectarian divisions that plague many Muslim nations. That, combined with the new government's inability to deliver on ambitious promises made before the election, left the country deeply divided.
Many feared that Egypt could descend into civil war. Egyptians who once stood together in solidarity on Tahrir Square turned on one another, in many instances along sectarian and political lines, and there were violent clashes in the streets.
Egyptians were hoping for — and expecting — a new era without a repressive state apparatus, with more freedom and a political system that followed the rule of law.
Despite the violence used to disperse the crowds, Egyptians continued protesting until President Mubarak was ousted. In , a military coup ousted the country's first civilian president, Mohamed Morsi. Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has held the presidency with a firm grip since The counterrevolution has pushed the country into a state that is even more oppressive than before the revolution.
The uprising has taken a terrible turn and has led to a tremendous regression. The situation of human and civil rights in the country is dramatically poor, according to human rights organization Amnesty International AI , which recently noted miserable conditions in Egyptian prisons , torture and unfair trials.
AI also spoke of a "horrifying execution spree" in the country that took place in October and November In its latest World Report, Human Rights Watch deplored that "under the guise of fighting terrorism, Egyptian authorities showed utter disregard for the rule of law. Last December, the European Parliament issued a resolution "on the deteriorating situation of human rights in Egypt" and called on its member states "to conduct a deep and comprehensive" review of relations with Egypt.
The position of the United Nations is similar. The Egyptian government, however, denies such accusations. It said there werere "no political prisoners" and stressed that the government "attaches great importance to the freedom of opinion and expression". Yet documentations by several human rights organizations yield a different picture. Activist Hossam el-Hamalawy says the uprising has left deep scars in the minds of the current regime's top brass.
Since then, the ruling political class has lived in a state of paranoia, fearing a repetition of the events in January However, Magdi Shendi, journalist and editor-in-chief of Al Mashhad newspaper, which describes itself as independent, feels that the harsh course taken by the government can be attributed to several acts of violence and terror after the uprising. In his opinion, many Egyptians have welcomed the state's efforts to restore law and order, even with force, because the country had suffered so much under terrorism and its consequences.
But this readiness does not extend to criminals and terrorists," he said. However, it is the regime of Abdel Fattah el-Sissi that defines who is a terrorist and who isn't.
Since he took office, critics and activists have often been imprisoned, accused of supporting terrorism. The page played an organizing role in the January protests.
Since , Ghonim has lived in the US. Now 40, his online commentary suggests he's depressed and disillusioned about the situation in Egypt. Human rights lawyer Mahienour el-Masry was one of the first to protest Said's death. El-Masry, now 35, has been arrested multiple times and spent several years behind bars.
In , she was arrested again after going to the state prosecutor's office to defend detainees. To date, her case still has not been heard and she remains in prison in what Humans Rights Watch calls "arbitrary detention. Alaa Abdel-Fattah and his wife founded a blog in to support local activists, after he had been arrested many times. After five years in jail he was released in March , only to be arrested again that September.
He remains in prison. Amnesty International has said he and his lawyer have been subjected to torture in prison. Ahmed Maher was co-founder of the April 6 movement, started in on Facebook in support of Egyptian workers who planned to strike that day.
The movement helped organize the protests of January
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