LONDON: Egyptians gathered in major cities across the US on Saturday for a second day of celebration after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, with many expressing hope about the future and some pledging to return to help in the Middle Eastern nation’s transition.
The weekend rallies held in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities followed spontaneous demonstrations that broke out Friday when Mubarak agreed to step down, after three weeks of sometimes-violent protests across Egypt that many feared would end in futility. On Saturday, the ruling military pledged to eventually hand power to an elected civilian government.
Waving Egyptian flags and yelling "freedom," about 200 people rallied outside city hall in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb at the center of one of the largest Arab-American communities in the US. They cheered the end of Mubarak’s rule, pledging to support Egypt as it goes through what could be a painful rebuilding process.
"Happy does not even describe it," said graduate student Ola Elsaid, a native of Egypt now living near Detroit. "We hope for a democracy in Egypt. We hope for a smooth transition. We don’t want any violence. We just hope for free and fair elections."
Elsaid plans to return to Egypt this summer after completing her business degree at Oakland University "to see how I can contribute to rebuilding the country," she said. "We the Egyptian people, we made this happen."
Meanwhile, jubilant activists took to the streets around the world Saturday to celebrate the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and to support pro-democracy protests across the Middle East.
Victory rallies took place in London, Washington, Sydney and other cities, echoing joyous scenes in Cairo a day after Mubarak handed power to the army to end 30 years of autocratic rule.
At by far the biggest rally, several thousand people gathered in London’s historic Trafalgar Square where huge screens broadcast a live link to Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests.
"It’s incredible. Two weeks ago if somebody had told me that one of the most powerful dictators in the world would be leaving, I wouldn’t have believed it," Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty told AFP.
Many of the rallies were originally called by human rights organization Amnesty as part of a global wave of protests to urge Mubarak to quit, but turned into victory celebrations after his resignation was announced.
Dozens of activists gathered in the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona where some handed out leaflets urging support for protests across the region.
In Berlin, around 100 people rallied at the Brandenburg Gate under the slogan "Democratic change in Egypt — now!" police said.
In Paris, around 25 people rallied near the Eiffel Tower.
About 100 Egyptians and other activists also rallied outside the Egyptian embassy in Brussels.
"The fall of Mubarak is only the first step," said Ruth Dhondt, a Belgian who backed the protests.
Amnesty said there were also rallies in Benin, Canada, Mali, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland.
In the Middle East and Africa, politicians and activists were still struggling to find their footing as the shockwaves from Mubarak’s resignation spread through the region. In Yemen and Algeria, violence erupted as protesters pressed their demands for democratic reforms. In Uganda and Zimbabwe — two countries ruled by long-serving strongmen — opposition figures invoked Mubarak’s downfall as a warning to their current rulers.
In Gaza, a celebratory rally organized by the radical Islamist group Hamas — and the silence maintained by both the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government — spoke to the possible repercussions of Mubarak’s ouster for long-delayed peace process.
Hamas has had a tense, often angry relationship with the deposed Egyptian president, who, along with Israel, has kept Hamas-ruled Gaza blockaded for the past four years. If Egypt’s Islamist Muslim Brotherhood wins a role in any post-Mubarak government, it could help Hamas shore up its position.
Wider a field, the congratulations kept pouring in.
