Obama: Egyptians Have Inspired Us All

In a speech carried live by networks around the world, President Obama lauded the significance of today’s developments in Cairo and voiced confidence over the country’s ability to move forward after more than 30 years of President Mubarak’s authoritarian rule. 

 “This is not the end of Egypt’s transition. It is a beginning. I’m sure there will be difficult days ahead and many questions remain unanswered. ” the President said “But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers and do so peacefully, constructively and in the spirit of unity that has defined the last few weeks” 

 Earlier in the day, Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s former head of intelligence services and recently appointed Vice President, read a short statement announcing Hosni Mubarak had  effectively stepped down and was handing power to the country’s military. 

 Suleiman’s announcement came less than 24 hours after Mubarak told the Egyptian people he had transferred most of his duties to the Vice President but would remain in office to ensure transition until the September election. That announcement seemed to take the Obama administration by surprise and further outraged protesters, who threatened to hold larger demonstrations if Mubarak’s departure from Egyptian politics was not complete. Suleiman’s future role in the transition, if any, remains unclear although his close association with Mubarak have made him an unpopular figure with most protesters.

President Obama also praised the peaceful nature and resolve of the protesters, comparing their “moral force” to the spirit of non-violence practiced by Gandhi or Martin Luther King.

“The American people are moved by these scenes in Cairo and across Egypt because of who we are as a people, and the kind of world we want our children to grow up in.” said Obama. “The word “Tahrir” means liberation. It is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom. And forever more it will remind us of the Egyptian people, of what they did, of the things that they stood for and how they changed their country and in doing so changed the World.”