Sunday, February 13, 2011

Did Mubarak Step Down or Was He Pushed?

Hosni Mubarak is believed to be hanging out at his Sharm el Sheik villa on the Red Sea.  It is thought he went there after his announcement on Thursday that he was staying on as president.

On Friday, a tense-looking vice president, Omar Suleiman, appeared on state television to announce Mubarak had stepped down and had transferred power to the chiefs of staff of the Egyptian military.

So just what happened betwixt pillar and post?  Did Mubarak change his mind or was it changed for him?  No one has said exactly what happened but there is one sign that Mubarak and his government were overthrown.

The Hindu newspaper carried a report that Mubarak and his officials have been told by the military that they may not leave Egypt without the permission of the military or Egypt's chief prosecutor.  A similar account was published in the Italian news agency, AGI.

The Arab news service, Al Masry Al Youm, is also reporting some of Mubarak's cronies have been put under house arrest, others ordered not to leave Egypt.   Citing "well informed sources" the online paper is reporting that Mubarak may have fallen into a coma.  Egypt's foreign ministry has also requested that the European Union freeze any assets belonging to five key cabinet ministers suspected to widespread corruption.

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