In Egypt, the police have withdrawn from the cities for the first time in 30 years and the people are in control of the streets

Today’s New York Times reports in its lead article:

President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt struggled to maintain a tenuous hold on power on Saturday as the police withdrew from the major cities and the military did nothing to hold back tens of thousands of demonstrators defying a curfew to call for an end to his nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule….

“Egypt has been a police state for 30 years. For the police to suddenly disappear from the streets is a shocking experience,” Mr. Bouckaert said….

“Who controls the street controls the country,” said Dr. Khaled Abdelfattah, 38, patrolling downtown. “We are in charge now.”

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 30, 2011 09:38 AM | Send