'Abd Al-Halim Qandil, Editor-in-Chief of Al-'Arabi: Freedom for Egypt Means the End of the Mubarak Regime

The following are excerpts from an interview with 'Abd Al-Halim Qandil, editor-in-chief of the Nasserist Egyptian weekly Al-'Arabi. Al-'Alam TV aired this interview on May 2, 2005.

Qandil: What we want now, to put it simply, is the following: Freedom for Egypt, which means the end of the rule of President Mubarak, who has remained in power for 24 consecutive years, which have yielded a "zero" (in Egypt's attempts to host the 2010) World Cup, "zero" in the economy, in the culture, and in politics. This is the "zero" regime!

Enough! He should leave. If President Mubarak complains so much about the growth in the Egyptian population, that Egyptians have many problems, and that there is unemployment and he cannot supply jobs... If you can't do anything, why do you remain in power?! What, are we recorded in your name in the land registry? Are we a clause in a certain will? These things are not appropriate for this country and should be ended. This regime has lasted 24 years, a quarter of a century. It is the longest rule in modern times after that of Muhammad Ali, and, of course, no one can compare the successful rule of Muhammad Ali with our present state of deterioration.