Monday and vowed to stay until they had toppled President Hosni
Mubarak, whose fate appeared to hang on the military as pressure
mounted from the street and abroad.
"The army has to choose between Egypt and Mubarak," read one banner in
Cairo's Tahrir Square, where demonstrators shared food with soldiers
sent to restore order after violent protests shook Mubarak's 30-year
rule to its core.
Six days of unrest has killed more than 100 people but the two sides
have reached a stalemate. Protesters refuse to go, while the army is
not moving them. The longer protesters stay unchallenged, the more
untenable Mubarak's position seems.
Protesters in Tahrir Square -- epicenter of the earthquake that has
sent shudders through the Middle East and among global investors --
have dismissed Mubarak's appointment of military men as his vice
president and prime minister.
His promises of economic reform to address public anger at rising
prices, unemployment and huge gap between rich and poor have failed to
halt their broader calls for a political sweep out of Mubarak and his
associates.
Protesters have called for a general strike Monday and what they bill
as a "protest of the millions" march Tuesday, to press their demands
for democracy which could spell the end for the military establishment
which has run post-colonial Egypt since the 1950s.
The United States, an ally which has poured billions of dollars of aid
into Egypt since Mubarak came to power, stopped just short of saying
openly that it wanted him out. Officials including President Barack
Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke about "an orderly
transition."
A senior U.S. administration official, who declined to be identified,
said the feeling among Obama's national security aides was that
Mubarak's time had passed, but it was up to Egyptians to determine
what happens next.
Mubarak, a former air force chief, has turned to his military
commanders, meeting them Sunday. They seem to hold his future in their
hands. Egypt's defense minister spoke by phone to U.S. Defense
Secretary Robert Gates Sunday.
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and
highest-ranking U.S. military officer, praised the "professionalism"
of Egypt's armed forces as its troops refrained from a crackdown on
protesters. Egypt receives about $1.3 billion a year in U.S. military
aid.
INVESTORS NERVOUS
The crisis in Egypt follows a revolt that toppled the leader of
Tunisia two weeks ago, and a wave of popular anger sweeping other
countries in North Africa and the Middle East.
Financial markets around the globe opened Monday bracing for the
impact of the weekend's events in Egypt. Brent oil hit a 28-month
high, pennies below $100 a barrel. The dollar rose in Asian trade as
investors sought a safe haven.
Share prices fell in Asia, and U.S. S&P futures were lower Monday
after Wall Street closed down 1.8 percent Friday, suggesting a global
pullback from risk assets like equities had room to run.
"The greater fear is that the turmoil could spread to other Middle
East countries, including even Saudi Arabia. If that happens, then all
bets for oil prices are off," ANZ Bank economist Sharon Zollner said
in a note to clients.
Egypt's own financial markets will be closed for a second working day
in a row Monday and the turmoil could quickly run down its substantial
reserves if it continues.
"Mubarak's predictability has long been counted on by the West, and
with that on the verge of disappearing, investors and politicians
around the region are nervous," said Akram Annous, MENA strategist at
Al Mal Capital.
An Egyptian opposition coalition that includes the mass Islamist
movement the Muslim Brotherhood has turned to Mohamed ElBaradei,
former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, to form a national unity
government and make contact with the military.
ElBaradei has urged Obama to call time on Mubarak.
"It is better for President Obama not to appear that he is the last
one to say to President Mubarak, 'It's time for you to go," he told
CNN.
ElBaradei disappointed the opposition by spending much of his time
abroad since he first launched a campaign calling for political reform
in Egypt last year, but lends the weight of his international
reputation to a movement that lacks a leader.
'NO MORE PHARAOHS'
"I think he is a good guy. He wasn't prepared for what happened. All
we care about is that we don't get another pharaoh," said Rami Nabil,
39, a businessman camped in Tahrir.
"We need a system of government that is democratic and long term, not
more pharaohs."
A short distance from the protests, shooting echoed over Cairo.
Impromptu neighborhood watch groups set up checkpoints across the city
center, checking anyone passing by.
Some of the self-appointed guards said shooting in one area near
Cairo's supreme court was the result of looters in a chemical company
building.
Security, which disintegrated Saturday and Sunday when police withdrew
from the streets, has been slowly restored. Extra troops sent into
cities helped calm panicked residents and the official news agency
said police patrols had resumed.
While the army has sought to stop lawlessness, there is no sign it is
willing to drive the protesters off the street.
"In the next few days security and stability will return," said
Brigadier Atef Said in Suez, east of Cairo and the scene of some of
the worst of the violence between police and protesters.
"We will allow protests in the coming days. Everyone has the right to
voice their opinion. We're listening and trying to help and satisfy
all parties. We're not here to stop anyone. These are our people," he
said.
(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed, Marwa Awad, Shaimaa Fayed,
Sherine El Madany, Yasmine Saleh, Alison Williams and Samia Nakhoul in
Cairo, Alexander Dziadosz in Suez, Matt Spetalnick and Phil Stewart in
Washington and Peter Apps, Angus MacSwan and William Maclean in
London; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Peter Graff)
