CAIRO — President Hosni Mubarak told the Egyptian people late last night that he would delegate authority to Vice President Omar Suleiman but that he would not resign, enraging hundreds of thousands gathered to hail his departure and setting in motion a volatile new stage in the three-week uprising.
The declaration by Mubarak that he would remain president appeared to signal a dangerous escalation in one of the largest popular revolts in Egypt’s history. Some protesters warned that weeks of peaceful protests might give way to violence as early as today’s demonstrations.
The 17-minute speech itself underlined a seemingly unbridgeable gap between ruler and ruled in Egypt: Mubarak, in paternalistic tones, talked in great detail about changes he planned to make to Egypt’s autocratic constitution, while crowds in Tahrir Square, with bewilderment and anger, demanded he step down.
Mubarak seemed oblivious.
“It’s not about me,’’ he said in his address.
When he was done, crowds in Cairo waved the bottoms of their shoes in the air, a gesture intended to convey disgust, and shouted, “Leave! Leave!’’
The reaction abroad to Mubarak’s address was more measured but also critical. President Obama issued a statement saying “too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy.’’ European leaders also called for more fundamental, quicker changes.
The speech came after a tumultuous day of dramatic gestures and fevered speculation in which the newly appointed head of Mubarak’s party said the president had agreed to step down, and the military issued a communique in which it declared it was intervening to safeguard the country, language some opposition leaders read as signaling a possible coup. Earlier in the day, even Obama seemed to believe Mubarak would go further, celebrating his belief that Egypt was “witnessing history unfold.’’
Instead, Mubarak, an 82-year-old former general, struck a defiant, even provocative note. While he acknowledged for the first time that his government has made mistakes, he made clear he was still president and that reforms in Egypt would proceed under his government’s supervision and according to the timetable of elections in September. Although Suleiman was already acting as the face of the government, the announcement gives him official authorities, albeit ones that Mubarak can still revoke.
“I saw fit to delegate the authorities of the president to the vice president, as dictated by the constitution,’’ he said. He added that he was “adamant to continue to shoulder my responsibility to protect the constitution and safeguard the interests of the people.’’
Mubarak echoed the contention of officials in past days that foreigners might be behind the uprising that has marked the largest protests in the modern Middle East but cited no evidence to support that allegation.
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“We will not accept or listen to any foreign interventions or dictations,’’ he said.
For hours before Mubarak’s speech, jubilant crowds, prematurely celebrating their victory, positioned themselves next to large speakers lashed to lampposts for what they assumed was a dramatic, late-night resignation speech.
At about 10:45, the crowd quieted as Mubarak started his speech, which was transmitted via a tiny radio that someone held up to a microphone. As the speech wore on, the muttering began. “Donkey,’’ someone said.
Soon, angry chants echoed through the square. People gathered in groups, confused, enraged, and faced with Mubarak’s plea to endorse his vision of gradual reform. Some said his speech was intended to divide the protesters, by peeling off those who thought he had gone far enough. Others said the speech reflected the isolation of a president that they had come to detest.
“Mubarak didn’t believe us until now, but we will make him believe tomorrow,’’ said Ashraf Osman, a 49-year-old accountant.
By midnight, about 3,000 protesters made their way from the square to the Radio and Television Building, which protesters loathe for propaganda that has cast them as troublemakers. Tanks were positioned along the street, and the building itself was barricaded with barbed wire, tanks, and armored vehicles that kept protesters away. Many said they planned to sleep there, in yet another move to broaden their protests that have so far focused on Tahrir Square and the nearby Parliament building. Some protesters also began gathering outside the presidential palace.
“We must stop these liars,’’ said Mohamed Zuhairy, a 30-year-old engineer, who had joined the crowd. “Television must reflect the real power of the revolution.’’
There were even moments of humor in a country with a well-deserved reputation for it. Protesters joked that the defining chant of the protests — “the people want the overthrow of the government’’ — had become “the people want to understand the speech.’’
In a sign of the confusion that reigned in Cairo, youthful opposition leaders sought to dissect the series of statements from the military command, Mubarak and Suleiman. Some believed an army long a player behind the scenes was still intent on seeking power, but had not yet mustered the leverage to force Mubarak from office. “We are thinking there has been a clash between the army and Suleiman, and the army wants us to raise our protests so they can take over,’’ said Shady el-Ghazali Harb, one of the leaders of the movement. “We think the army doesn’t want Omar Suleiman.’’
It was unclear whether the military had tried to oust Mubarak and failed or was participating in a more complicated choreography in Egypt’s opaque system of rule. A military statement after Mubarak’s speech had yet to be aired by early today.
Organizers have said demonstrators plan to rally at six sites throughout the capital today, then converge not only on Tahrir Square but also Parliament and the television building. While organizers have said that today may mark some of the biggest protests yet, they spoke in darker tones about what they may represent now, given what many view as the determination of Mubarak to stay in office. “He set the country on fire,’’ said Zyad el-Alami, one of the organizers. “No one can control the violence [today]. [Today] I think a lot of people will be killed.’’
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
