AS EGYPTIANS streamed into the centre of their capital for the day’s demonstrations yesterday, the cheerful marchers circuiting Tahrir Square chanted the Egyptian word for revolution: “Thawra, thawra.”
Ahmad, an insistent young man in a knitted cap, asserted: “We will leave this square when Mubarak leaves Egypt.”
As a knot of young men gathered to express their views, another chipped in. “All Egyptians are here. Yesterday we prayed the Maghrib [evening] prayer here and Christians protected us. Christians, Muslims: we are all together. There is no difference between Muslims and Christians. Mubarak causes problems between us.”
The crowd clapped when a tank bearing half a dozen soldiers swanned through the square. Helicopters flew low overhead. “Thawra, thawra,” the crowd shouted. Since the internal security forces were withdrawn from the streets on Friday afternoon, Egyptians have lost their fear of the regime. They believe the soldiers will side with them, not the regime.
Another group of marchers brandishing the red, white and black flag of Egypt shouted: “Off with [President Hosni] Mubarak’s head.”
But the members of our little seminar disagreed. “He should stand trial,” several said in one voice.
Asked about Omar Suleiman, the intelligence officer sworn in as vice president on Saturday, and Ahmed Shafik, appointed prime minister, they said: “No, no: they must all go.”
A thin youngster held out a brass casing from a live round. “They are shooting us with bullets now,” he whispered, his voice damaged by tear gas and too much chanting.
A retired salesman paused to add to the discussion. “This is the beginning of the end for the regime. Ever since January 25th we have not stopped. The US and Western governments should stop helping Mubarak. Instead they should help us have free elections,” he said.
As fighter jets flew low over Tahrir Square, elsewhere hundreds of senior judges called for investigations into the shooting of unarmed demonstrators.
Speaking by phone as she made her way to the square, Ghada Shabender of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights said the fatality toll stood at 100 in Cairo, 30 in Alexandria and 60 in Suez.
“This morning they closed down the offices of al-Jazeera on the orders of the minister who was fired yesterday. There is a blackout.”
There are no newspapers, the internet is blocked, mobile text messaging is off and some mobile networks are playing up.
Dr Youssef Zaki, a professor at Ain Shams university, said: “This is Egypt’s first real revolution. The others have been coups carried out by the military. But this is taking place in the whole country.”