EGYPT - FIRST STEP IN LIBERATION PROCESS COMPLETED - MUBARAK RESIGNS - MILITARY TAKES OVER

Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control to the military on Friday, bowing down after a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations by hundreds of thousands.

A massive crowd in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square exploded into joy, waving Egyptian flags, and car horns and celebratory shots in the air were heard around the city of 18 million in joy after Vice-President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV just after nightfall.

“In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic,” a grim-looking Suleiman said. “He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor.”

This breakthrough for Democracy in Egypt is not only an example of what United People Power can achieve, but also a lesson for all governments in the world that they are there to serve the people and not themselves. A woman celebrating the downfall of Mubarack in Cairo said, "this is the first step of hopefully many that will follow as part of our Democratic liberation process ".

EU-Digest