Mubarak Steps Down From His Throne

Shortly after 17:00 CET, Omar Suleiman - the CIA's man in Cairo – announced in a one-minute speech that Hosni Mubarak has resigned from office and "instructed the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to run the affairs of the country".

base 2014 congratulates the people of Egypt to have succeeded in chasing away the long time oppressor and wishes good luck on the way to social freedom and fairness! Congrats especially to Egypt's Cyber Dissidents!

Just for the record, the following screenshot shows how Austrian television viewers came to know of the historical news of this day:

At exactly 17:02:31 CET, Karim El-Gawhary reporting live from

 Cairo for the Austrian ORF realizes that Mubarak has resigned.

The fate of other countries has shown that getting rid of the dictator himself - as the symbol of oppression - might lead to a balanced prosperous development - as long as his vasalls are banished, too. But Mubarak's henchmen are still in charge. His own party - the NDP -  is still in place.  

On January 28, base2014 suggested Mubarak's NDP to be the next member of the Socialist International to be expelled.

This was eventually done silently on January 31: the farewell-letter to the Secretary General of the National Democratic Party Egypt was published on the SI-website. A member of the Dutch Labour commented: "the SI’s  late calling of democratic sensibility is shameful and opportunistic. This behaviour of the SI represents part of the ideological and moral crisis of the Left, being so much a non-critical part of the global establishment.  Since the heydays of Olaf Palme, Willy Brandt and Bruno Kreisky within the SI, we have never heard anything substantial from this on paper mega-organisation any more."

The SI did not name any of the massive crimes committed and/or tolerated by the dictator's party.

The Socialist International Didn't Know?

While today Tunesia's citizens are still struggeling to get rid of any remaining member of the Trabelsi clan and friends in the new interim government (9 of them are still left), it should be noted that the Socialist International has announced 10 days ago the expulsion of the RCD – the Rassemblement constitutionnel démocratique*

SI decision on Tunisia, 17 JANUARY 2011

A decision has been taken by the President together with the Secretary General, in accordance with the statutes of the Socialist International, to cease the membership of the Constitutional Democratic Assembly (RCD) of Tunisia.

This decision, in extraordinary circumstances, reflects the values and principles which define our movement and the position of the International on developments in that country.

RCDs long-standing party leader was former President of the Tunesian Republic, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fled to Saudia-Arabia on January 14, 2011, where he and a major part of his clan is still residing. The RCD was well known to have established the epitome of a police state, relentlessly persecuting labor unionists "through harassment, intimidation, detention, and even torture" - so reported by Human Rights Watch only in October 2010. The Report (available here) mentions the word 'torture' 33 times.

It's left to ask how many "socialist" parties around the globe using torture the International is still counting as its members? How about the NDP in Egypt?

German Article: Sozialistische Internationale schließt Ben Alis Partei aus