Jubilant Egyptians usher in post-Mubarak era

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians woke to a new era on Saturday after Hosni Mubarak's 30 years in power came to an end, determined to ensure the army delivers civilian rule and prepared to use people power again if necessary.

In Tahrir (Liberation) Square, jubilant crowds celebrated while calling on the armed forces to meet their demands including the dissolution of parliament and an end to emergency laws used by Mubarak to crush opposition and dissent.

"The army is with us but it must realise our demands. Half revolutions kill nations," pharmacist Ghada Elmasalmy, 43, told Reuters. "Now we know our place, whenever there is injustice, we will come to Tahrir Square."

It remained to be seen what appetite the high command had for a transition to democracy in a country that traces its history back to the pharaohs more than 5,000 years ago and that has been transformed by the upheaval of an 18-day uprising.

Al Arabiya television said the army would soon dismiss the cabinet and suspend parliament. The head of the Constitutional Court would join the leadership with the military council, which was given the job of running the country of 80 million people.

Despite misgivings about military rule, the best deterrent to any attempt to keep the military in power could be the street power and energy of protesters nationwide who swept Mubarak from power because he governed without their consent.

Throughout the Middle East and beyond, autocratic rulers were now calculating their chances of survival after Mubarak was forced from power.

In Algiers, dozens gathered in a city square on Saturday shouting anti-government slogans only to be encircled by hundreds of police determined to end any attempt to stage an Egyptian-style revolt.

Mubarak, 82, was believed to be at his residence in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, his future unclear.

The first priority in Egypt was law and order before the start of the working week which begins on Sunday. Army tanks and soldiers stayed on the streets guarding intersections and key buildings after the disgraced police force melted away.

SMILING SOLDIERS

With the threat of possible confrontation between the army and protesters now gone, Cairo residents took photographs of each other holding flowers with smiling soldiers at roadblocks to record the first day of a new post-Mubarak era.

People were buying bundles of state-owned newspapers proclaiming "The Revolution of the Youths forced Mubarak to leave" with pictures of celebrations to keep as treasured souvenirs of this landmark in Egypt's history.

"I could not have imagined living to see such a day ... I just hope the new system in Egypt benefits us and fulfils our dreams," Essam Ismail, a Cairo resident in his thirties, told Reuters in Tahrir. "I still can't believe it really happened."

Egypt's opposition had been stifled by 30 years of emergency rule imposed after Mubarak succeeded Anwar Sadat, killed by an Islamist army officer in 1981, and there has been no obvious Nelson Mandela or Lech Walesa leading Egypt's revolution.

EMERGENCY LAWS

Many wanted to see the immediate end to emergency laws. "I think the least thing the great Egyptian people deserve after what they did is to live without emergency law," said Hafez Abou Saeda from the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights.

"I also expect to see the parliament and shura council dissolved soon as we all know they came by forgery and don't represent the Egyptian people."

Other demands from Tahrir reformists included the release of political prisoners, scrapping of the constitution, suspension of parliament and establishment of a transitional five-member presidential council made up of military personnel and civilians.

Activists wanted the formation of a transitional government to prepare for an election to take place in no more than nine months, the setting up of political parties, the ending of military courts and for the media to be able to publish freely.

Among possible leaders was Ayman Nour, who challenged Mubarak in the most recent presidential election and was later charged with forgery and jailed for three years in what Nour said was a politically motivated case.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister, has often won Arab public support for his outspoken comments. Moussa said on Friday he would leave the pan-Arab body which he headed for about 10 years within weeks.

There were also some popular members from the Muslim Brotherhood group and other opposition parties. It was still unclear if any of the anonymous youth leaders behind the well-organised revolt wanted or would be allowed to hold office.

Another possibility was Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and leading opposition activist, who started a campaign last year for democracy and an end to the current government.

TAHRIR REVOLUTION

The army dismantled checkpoints on Saturday around Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the protest movement, and some makeshift barricades were being removed. Volunteers cleaned up while a carnival atmosphere lingered.

Egyptians were desperate to restore normality and get back to work after the upheaval damaged the nation's economy.

Eighteen days of rallies, resisting police assaults, rubber bullets, live rounds and a last-ditch charge by pro-Mubarak hardliners on camels, brought undreamed-of success. Some of the veteran protesters took down their tents, others were staying on.

"This is the start of the revolution, it's not over yet, but I have to go back to work," said Mohammed Saeed, 30, who was packing away his tent.

Mohammed Farrag, 31, who was also decamping after 18 days, said he believed stability was returning. "But, at the end of the day, we will not give up on Egypt as a civilian state, not a military state," he said.

"If things move away from our demands, we will go into the street again, even if we have to die as martyrs."

Mubarak's political end was swift, coming less than a day after he stunned protesters by insisting he would not step down despite widespread expectations that he was about to do so.

Vice President Omar Suleiman said a military council would run Egypt to "achieve the hopes of our great people."

The council gave few details of what it said would be a "transitional phase" and gave no timetable for presidential or parliamentary elections.

In the United States, Mubarak's long-time sponsor, President Barack Obama stressed to the U.S.-aided army that "nothing less than genuine democracy" would satisfy Egyptians.

He acknowledged: "This is not the end of Egypt's transition. It's a beginning. I'm sure there will be difficult days ahead, and many questions remain unanswered."

Washington has pursued a sometimes meandering line since the protests began on January 25, apparently reluctant to lose a bulwark against militant Islam in the Middle East but anxious to endorse calls for political freedom.

Behind the celebrations, there was a note of caution over how far the armed forces under Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's veteran defence minister, were ready to permit democracy, especially since the hitherto banned Muslim Brotherhood is one of the best organised movements.

Mubarak was the second Arab leader to be overthrown in a month. Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was forced to flee his country when the generals told him they were not prepared to defend him against protesters.

(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul, Edmund Blair, Marwa Awad, Yasmine Saleh, Dina Zayed, Shaimaa Fayed, Alexander Dziadosz, Sherine El Madany, Patrick Werr, Alistair Lyon, Tom Perry, Andrew Hammond, Jonathan Wright, Peter Millership and Alison Williams in Cairo and Christian Lowe in Algiers; Writing by Alastair Macdonald and Peter Millership; editing by Andrew Dobbie)