Army's position key to Egypt's current situation
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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a televised speech on Thursday night that he will hand over power to Vice President Omar Suleiman in response to the calls of protestors demanding his immediate departure.
The latest statement has come amid speculations that he may step down as the mass protests continued since Jan. 25 despite his previous pledges not to seek re-election in September and his reshuffle of the government.
Protesters in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, the epicenter of the revolt, looked disappointed with the president's new address. They are planning to launch another massive demonstration after Friday prayers, pressing the president to leave office immediately.
The position of the army forces is now crucial to how the situation will go for this country with a population of nearly 80 million and to the stability of the Middle East region.
The army forces, which have been keeping good relations with the people in history, said they would not use force against the protestors.
The Supreme Council of Egypt's armed forces issued a statement on Thursday, saying the council "decided to remain in continuous session to consider what procedures and measures that may be taken to protect the nation and aspirations of Egyptian people."
On Friday morning, the supreme military council held another meeting and will announce another important statement, the state media said.
"The public doesn't trust Omar Suleiman anymore. As Mubarak said he will delegate power to his deputy according to the constitution, which means that Suleiman couldn't take any decision without consulting the president, there will be a kind of manipulation," said Nabil Abdel Fatah, a political expert in the Al Ahram Strategic Studies Center.
The president should hand the power to the army to form a technocratic military interim government, according to Fatah.
"The parliament should be dissolved. The legislative authority should move to the military government. The party's laws should be changed and there should be new parties," he said.
"If Mubarak resigns, the protestors will ask for a trail for his wealth, from where and when he got all this money," he added.
Dialogue between the opposition and the government has started, but faces uncertainties, as the opposition groups have little trust on the government to carry out reforms.
The banned Muslim Brotherhood has said there would be no real dialogue if their demands were not met. And on Thursday, opposition Tagammu Party withdrew from the talks with the Egyptian government, becoming the first opposition party to quit the dialogue.
Major youth groups who organize the protests also insist that they would continue protesting until Mubarak leaves office.
The situation has become more complicated as workers have staged strikes in many places across the country, demanding better salaries.
The Egyptian army will soon show to people whether they remain loyal to the president or stand with the people's demands.
