Egypt: thousands flood Cairo square galvanised by Google activist

Egypt: thousands flood Cairo square galvanised by Google activist

Thousands of protesters flooded Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday, galvanised by the release of a pro-democracy cyber activist.

Egyptian anti-government protesters gather at Cairo's Tahrir square  Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

3:26PM GMT 08 Feb 2011

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, took a step earlier on Tuesday towards democratic reform, authorising a committee to pursue constitutional change, a gesture that failed to appease the crowds who noisily demanded his immediate ouster.

"We are going in to support the people inside the square. They are the first line of defence," said 26-year-old Mahmud el-Naggar, who came from Fayyoum, south of the capital, with a group of friends and made for the square.

"We've heard there will be a million-strong demonstration today."

Protesters who arrived in the square, past a cordon of troops and tanks that searched them for weapons but made no attempt to halt the demonstration, were greeted by huge new posters of the "martyrs" of their revolt.

Many also carried the symbols of the internet social networks Facebook and Twitter, which have become vital mobilising tools for the opposition thanks to online campaigners like Google executive Wael Ghonim.

Mr Ghonim has himself become a hero to many in the movement, having started one of its most popular Facebook sites and been detained by the regime following a former day of protest on January 27.

Freed late on Monday, he gave an emotional interview to Egypt's Dream 2, weeping as he remembered those killed in two weeks of protests.

"I was blindfolded for 12 days, I couldn't hear anything, I didn't know what was happening," he said, in an appearance that has motivated the protests and been spread far and wide by his internet fans.

"I'm not a hero, I slept for 12 days," Mr Ghonim said. "The heroes, they're the ones who were in the street, who took part in the demonstrations, sacrificed their lives, were beaten, arrested and exposed to danger."

Mr Ghonim announced that he was on his way to the square in a Tweet to his followers, saying: "Egyptians are making history."

For its part, the regime issued a decree forming a committee to oversee constitutional changes ahead of elections later this year.

"The president welcomed the national consensus, confirming we are on the right path to getting out of the current crisis," said Vice President Omar Suleiman, whom many now see as the effective power behind the throne.

"A clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realise a peaceful and organised transfer of power," he promised, in a televised address.

The vice president has begun meeting representatives of some opposition parties – including the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, but not some of the street protest groups – to draw up plans for a democratic transition.

Mr Mubarak has promised not to stand for re-election in September, but opposition groups say any vote to replace the 82-year-old strongman would not be fair under Egypt's current constitution.

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Telegraph.co.uk