Freed young leader energizes crowds in CairoCAIRO: Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flooded Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square and towns across Egypt Tuesday, in the the biggest show of defiance toward President Hosni Mubarak since the uprising began. In Cairo, the immense crowd hailed as a hero a charismatic cyberactivist and Google executive whose Facebook site helped kickstart the protests on Jan. 25 and who was released after being detained and blindfolded for 12 days. Journalists overlooking the square confirmed it was the largest gathering yet in a movement which began last month. Witnesses in Egypt's second city Alexandria said a march there also attracted record numbers. Many protesters carried the symbols of the Internet social networks Facebook and Twitter, which have become vital mobilizing tools for the opposition, thanks to online campaigners like the Google executive, Wael Ghonim. “I like to call it the Facebook Revolution, but after seeing the people right now, I would say this is the Egyptian people's revolution. It's amazing,” Ghonim said, after he was mobbed by adoring supporters in the crowd. Ghonim was greeted with cheers, whistling and thunderous applause when he declared: “We will not abandon our demand and that is the departure of the regime.” Ghonim spoke softly and briefly to the huge crowd from a stage and began by offering his condolences to the families of those killed. “I'm not a hero but those who were martyred are the heroes,” he said and then broke into a chant of “Mubarak, leave, leave.” When he finished, the crowd erupted in cheering, whistling and deafening applause. Ghonim has emerged as a rallying point for protesters, who reject a group of traditional opposition groups that have met with the government amid the most sweeping concessions the regime has made in its three decades in power. Vice President Omar Suleiman, a long-time intelligence chief, led talks this week with opposition groups including the Muslim Brotherhood. In comments broadcast on state television, he said: “A clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realize the peaceful and organized transfer of power.” So far the government has conceded little ground in talks and Mubarak has promised only to stand down when his term expires in September. While the government refuses to budge on the demonstrators' main demands, Suleiman promised there would be no reprisals against the protesters. But the protesters dismissed his promises, accusing the government of playing for time, and swore they would not give up until the current “half revolution” was complete. The state news agency said 34 political prisoners had been released, the first to be set free since Mubarak promised reforms to quell the popular uprising. The White House called on Egypt to release all arrested protesters and journalists immediately. “The government has got to stop arresting protesters and journalists, harassment, beatings, detentions of reporters, of activists, of those involved in civil society,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said at a daily news briefing. Further, US Vice President Joe Biden telephoned his Egyptian counterpart Suleiman to urged the government to broaden its dialogue with opposition groups. Protesters completely filled Tahrir Square for the third time since the demonstrations began on Jan. 25. “I came here for the first time today because this cabinet is a failure, Mubarak is still meeting the same ugly faces,” said Afaf Naged, 71, a former member of the board of directors of the state-owned National Bank of Egypt. Many in a country where about 40 percent of people live on less than $2 a day are desperate to return to work and normal life, even some of those wanting to oust Mubarak. But some telecoms and steel workers were emboldened by the demonstrations and went on strike to demand better wages. People on Tahrir Square were skeptical about the talks and suspicious of Mubarak's motives. Youssef Hussein, a 52-year-old tourist driver from Aswan, held up a sign saying: “Dialogue prolongs the life of the regime and gives it the kiss of life. No dialogue until Mubarak leaves.” “This dialogue is just on paper, it is just political manoeuvring to gain time,” said Sayed Hagaz from the Nile Delta.
