Mubarak Steps Down!

Update: Mubarak has gone! Egyptian state TV reported that Mubarak has left. This was a short message. The  crowd  at Tahrir is cheering.

President Hosni Mubarak has decided to waive the office of the republic – says Vice President Omar Suleiman – Army in charge of Egypt

There are growing talks in Egypt that president Hosni Mubarak left Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh, and that he’ll continue from there to Germany, to undergo” medical inspections” – meaning he’s leaving Egypt and quiting.

An announcement from the Egyptian presidency office is expected soon. There are confirmations that Mubarak is in Sharm el-Sheikh (or Sharem al-Sheikh), but not of his departure of the country.

There were already reports that preparations are made in a luxurious hospital in Baden Baden, Germany, to receive the troubled Egyptian president for his retirement.

The protests today, February 11th, were huge, especially after Mubarak refused to step down on a speech made on State television on Thursday night. The crowds were angry, and today they took to the streets in the biggest numbers ever.

It’s not only Tahrir square – the State TV building, Maspero, is  surrounded. The presidential palace at the borough of Helipolis is also crowded by the multitude. The military is guarding these strategic buildings and the protests are peaceful. Military helicopters landed in the presidential palace, just before the statement.

The two helicopters just left the presidential palace. The protesters hope that Mubarak is leaving now, but he is probably already in Sharm al-Sheikh.

In recent days,  Egyptian  unions have joined the protesters and imposed strikes – this is what sent the Tunisian president home, and this could be the decisive move that topples Mubarak.