Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation yesterday capped off 18 days of protests from Egyptians calling for change. Celebrations echoed from Cairo's Tahrir Square, and in New York's "Little Egypt" in Queens, people cheered in the street and honked car horns—one man told the Post, "We are free. We can breathe." The Post also celebrated the end of Mubarak's 30-year reign with a Photoshop cover of the former leader as a mummy.
The Egyptian military authorities issued the statement, "The Arab Republic of Egypt is committed to all regional and international obligations and treaties," and said it asked the current government to stay on until a new one was formed to "pave the way for an elected civil authority to build a free democratic state."
While one thrilled Egyptian in Queens was overheard saying, "Long live Egypt! We are free at last! This 30-year-old nightmare is over!" another told the NY Times he was "upset, because without Mubarak, there is going to be a big mess. Everybody is against me. But I don’t care. I wish Mubarak had held on for longer, but there was too much pressure... I am worried that Egypt will turn into Afghanistan, that girls won’t be able to go to school and will be forced to wear burqas, that we will end up with a country run by extremists. Mr. Mubarak was America’s son, and we had good relations with America. We had good relations with Israel. Now what will happen?"
The Washington Post notes that with Mubarak's departure, there is now a vacuum where a U.S. ally once was, the NY Times looks at the uncharted territory ahead, and the Wall Street Journal discusses how social media and technology could poses problems for regimes. Also, President Obama said, "The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same. By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people's hunger for change. But 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."
