For an insider opinion, an Egyptian blogger/journalist answered questions from around the world about the political future of the country, the role of the Muslim Brotherhood, etc:
http://www.araborganizing.org/blog/archives/301
Hossam el-Hamalawy: I see him stepping down pretty soon or else he will be taken into custody of the protestors and will be put on trial.
I do not worry about power vacuum because the people are already taking initiatives on the ground to fill any security or political vacuums as we saw in the case of the popular committee that are running security now in the Egyptian neighborhoods, following the evacuation of the police.
Regarding ElBaradei, I do not want to see him as an interim leader because he will diffuse the revolution, not take it forward.
Washington, DC: If Mubarak steps down, is there a fear that a radical regime will take his place instead of a democratic one? How likely is that to happen?
Hossam el-Hamalawy: If you are taling radical, like in radical redistribution of wealth and active support for the spread of regional dissent against both the local Arab dictators and the western backers, then we welcome the radicalism. But if it was radicalism in the direction of religious fanatacism we definitely do not want that and I see no signs on the ground that religious fanatics are taking over.
The protests have been very organized and peaceful until the pro-government supporters got involved. Witnesses on the ground reported that after the protests moved through a neighborhood, people would stay behind to pick up trash. After the first few days when there were problems with looting, people organized their own security committees to protect themselves and their property. When looters attempted to break into the Egyptian History Museum, which houses artifacts such as King Tut's mummy, protesters formed a human shield around the museum to protect it.
The situation on the ground did not seem chaotic, prior to the pro-government rallies.
Amnesty International's summary of Egypt's human rights record:
The protests in Egypt erupted in the context of more than 30 years of severe repression and widespread human rights violations – most committed with impunity.
The government has crushed previous calls for reform using powers under a state of emergency that has been in force continuously for 30 years – the entire period of President Mubarak's rule.
Critics have been rounded up, prosecuted on trumped-up charges, and imprisoned after grossly unfair trials.
Tens of thousands of people labelled as a threat to security have been held without charge under repeated administrative detention orders, some for years. Some detainees have been systematically tortured.
About 16 million Egyptians – around one-in-five – live below the poverty line, many in sprawling slums, denied their basic social and economic rights.
The protesters across Egypt are now demanding their long-overdue human rights, they are demanding to be allowed to live in dignity and with social justice.
During the current uprising, the state has failed to protect protesters from violent attacks by police and pro-government supporters, imposed draconian restrictions on freedom of expression and rounded up, detained and allowed attacks on human rights workers and journalists.
Back in June of 2010, there were protests when the police allegedly beat a man to death for taking video footage of police corruption. His name was Khaled Said.
Article:
http://www.arabist.net/blog/2010/6/14/the-murder-of-khaled-said.html
News report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGhoJ...1&feature=fvwp
During the protests, the police and/or the military used live ammunition against the protesters, as well as vans and buses to run people over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqydgpyVNKY
Some historical background: Former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981 by extremists for his earlier role in the Camp David Accords, which took place during the Carter administration. Mubarak assumed control of the country and put emergency law, or martial law, in place. At the time, you could say that it made sense. When a head of state gets assassinated, security is bound to be a top priority. However, the state of emergency was never lifted from 1981 to now. Under martial law, citizens have almost no rights. Media is state controlled, and police brutality is commonplace. People have been tortured and killed while in police custody.
Mubarak has said that the protesters will not be prosecuted, but given his government's history of corruption and state-sanctioned torture, no one is willing to take his word.