Timeline: Egypt protests

Subject: Timeline: Egypt protests Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:21 pm

Timeline: Egypt protests
Egypt has been hit with the most serious anti-government demonstrations
since President Hosni Mubarak came to power in 1981, testing the
powerful security forces in a political bellwether for the Arab world.

Here are the main developments in Egypt this year:

January 17

* A 50-year-old man sets himself on fire outside Parliament, an
apparent copycat of the suicide of a young Tunisian in mid-December,
which unleashed an uprising that overthrew Tunisian president Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali.

January 18

* A 25-year-old unemployed man dies after setting himself ablaze in
the northern city of Alexandria. Another man, a lawyer in his forties,
sets himself alight outside government headquarters in Cairo.

January 24

* Leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei says opponents of
Egypt's long-running regime should be able to follow the lead set by the
toppling of Tunisia's president.

January 25

* Anti-government demonstrations bring several thousand people on to
the streets across Egypt. Two demonstrators are killed in Suez after
clashes with police and in Cairo a police officer dies after being
beaten by demonstrators.

January 26

* Thousands of people demonstrate in Egyptian towns, despite a
strict ban imposed by the authorities. Egyptian police fire tear gas at
protesters.
* In Cairo a protester and a policeman are killed in clashes.
* In Suez, 55 demonstrators and 15 police officers injured in clashes.

January 27

* Security forces flood central Cairo.
* Hundreds of protesters clash with police in Suez and Ismailiya.
* A young man is shot dead by police in the Sinai town of Sheikh Zuwayed.
* The White House warns the Egyptian government and protesters they have an "obligation" to avoid violence.
* The European Union calls on Egypt to respect the right to protest.

January 28

* Anti-regime protests come to a head after Friday prayers.
* In Cairo riot police fire tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse
tens of thousands of protesters, while in Suez a protester is killed and
in Alexandria the governorate building is torched.
* Internet services go down.
* Nobel laureate ElBaradei joins thousands in Friday prayers in
Cairo, a day after returning home and saying he is ready to "lead the
transition".
* Mr Mubarak imposes a dusk-to-dawn curfew and calls on the army to assist beleaguered police in enforcing it.
* The United States, Britain and Germany express concern about the
violence, with Britain saying the protesters have "legitimate
grievances".
* Protesters torch the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party.

January 29

* Tens of thousands of protesters flood Cairo streets, ignoring an
extended 4pm to 8am curfew, also applied in Alexandria and Suez.
* Clashes break out with security forces.
* Three people are killed in the capital while a mob in Rafah kills three police.
* The nationwide death toll since Tuesday reaches at least 51.
* Violent clashes in Ismailiya.
* The army calls on Egyptians to protect themselves against looters. Dozens of shops ransacked in Cairo.
* The resignation of the government, promised by Mr Mubarak, is announced.
* Ahmed Ezz, widely seen as a linchpin of a corrupt regime, resigns from the National Democratic Party.
* The banned Muslim Brotherhood, the best-organised opposition
group, calls for a peaceful transfer of power through a transitional
cabinet.
* Mr ElBaradei says Mr Mubarak "must go".
* Influential cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi urges Mubarak to step down for the good of the country.
* Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman sworn in as vice
president, the first such post to be held in Mr Mubarak's 30-year
presidency.

January 30

* Thousands of convicts break out of prisons.
* Egyptian warplanes make deafening low passes over protesters
thronging the city centre as Mubarak visits central military command.
* The opposition charges Mr ElBaradei with negotiating with the regime.
* Pan-Arab satellite television channel Al Jazeera is ordered to close in Egypt.
* The United States and several other governments prepare to evacuate their nationals from Egypt.
* The White House says that in calls to regional leaders President
Barack Obama has voiced support for "an orderly transition to a
government that is responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian
people".
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is carefully watching developments.
* The six days of nationwide protest have left at least 125 people dead.
* Police ordered back onto the streets as the curfew is extended to run from 3pm to 8am.
* Parliament Speaker Fathi Surur says the results of 2010's fraud-tainted parliamentary elections will be revised.

Previous protests

March 2005 - Street protests by the Kefaya (Enough) Movement draw
hundreds across Egypt to oppose a fifth term for Mr Mubarak or any
attempt to install his son in his place.

May 2005 - Parliament votes to change the constitution to allow
contested presidential elections, dismissing opposition complaints that
strict rules would still prevent genuine competition. A referendum
overwhelmingly confirms the constitutional change.

September 2005 - Mr Mubarak is sworn in for a fifth consecutive term
after winning the country's first contested presidential elections on
September 7.

December 2005 - The Muslim Brotherhood increase their seats in
parliament after an election marred by violence, but Mubarak's party
retains a big majority. Eight people were killed on the last day of
voting on December 7.

November 2006 - Mr Mubarak says he will retain his responsibilities for the rest of his life.

June 2009 - US president Barack Obama in a speech in Cairo calls for a
"new beginning" in ties between Washington and the Islamic world.

March 2010 - Former UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei makes a first
public appearance after his return to Egypt in February. Mr ElBaradei
has said he would consider a presidential bid if demands are met,
including constitutional changes to limit power.

March 2010 - Mr Mubarak returns to Egypt to reassume presidential powers
after three weeks recovering from gall bladder surgery in Germany.

June 2010 - Police were accused of beating 28-year-old Khaled Said to
death in a busy Alexandria street, after he posted videos online
alleging police corruption. The death sparked angry demonstrations.

November 2010 - Parliamentary elections, which had been certified as
free and fair by the government, were condemned by rights and opposition
groups as rigged to ensure a crushing victory for Mr Mubarak's party.

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