‘Even if the talks fail, ULFA leaders will never return to jungle life’

The Sanmilita Jatiya Abhibartan, a forum of prominent citizens, intellectuals and organisations from Assam, was instrumental in bringing the leadership of the United Liberation Front of Asom or ULFA forward for talks. In an interview, the forum’s convener Hiren Gohain tells TEHELKA’s Ratnadip Choudhury about the prospects.

Sanmilita Jatiya Abhibartan Convener Hiren Gohain

With the modalities for the talks being floated, what does the forum now feel about the future of the talks?
See, the process would not be a smooth one, but our perception will not change. Criticism has been resurfacing and many people are trying to say that we are trying to toe the line suggested by the government. But I would like to make it clear that if that was the case, then the people of Assam would not have kept faith in us. We are looking forward to a negotiated settlement under the ambit of the Indian Constitution for which there might be a necessity of change in some fundamental structures. All the parties involved will have to give the wishes and grievances of the people of Assam top priority. …It seems we are moving towards something that will be concrete.

Do you feel the government is sincere?
For decades there is a strong sentiment in Assam that important decisions that (affected) the lives of people here were taken in New Delhi with out even not taking proper public opinion, without any analysis of consequence. So the aspirations of the people were neglected in a democratic society that perhaps led to an armed struggle. Now that the government has also shown keen interest, we feel that they understand the mistakes committed. In this era, a settlement can definitely be worked out where all the parties involved and above all the people of Assam will be satisfied and for this the government of India has to show a strong political will and ULFA need to have patience and maturity that it lacked in earlier attempts.

What are the factors that would govern the ground rules for talks?
The governing principle of the proposed talks will be empowering the people of Assam to take important decisions. At this moment many decisions are taken without any consensus. This needs to change. Now the talks will certainly figure around this core issue of empowering people.

You were very instrumental in actually convincing the government to set the ULFA leadership free so that the talks can be taken forward. What if the talks fail and they go underground once again?
I want to make is very clear that we got them released under the condition that they are not going to get back to the jungle life even if the talks fail. Otherwise, we would not have taken such a risk. Now both the government and the ULFA leaders have to respect our initiative. The ULFA leaders have themselves told us that they have realised that armed struggle is futile. They want a solution through political dialogue.

ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Barua is dead against the peace process and a large section of people inside Assam are called this process as the government’s political gimmick. How do you react to it?
It is for ULFA and Paresh Barua to decide if he wants to join the process or not. There are two things that need to be said. One, that some people and a section of the media are trying to play politics with this issue. They are trying to brand us as peace brokers for political benefits of the ruling party. My response is that we have gone to several places where people across sections have come forward to tell us that they want a proper peace where people’s wishes are given top priority. The second thing is that in earlier processes, the people of Assam were not that involved. But now people are leading the way, so I do not think people doubt our credibility.

Fight For Naga Sovereignty Continues

Demand for ‘Frontier Nagaland’ fails to get enough attention, believe community leaders

By Avalok Langer

The Telangana issue has made it to the mainstream media, but the demand to bifurcate Nagaland and Manipur has somehow to not found its 15 minutes of fame. Earlier this month, the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) vocalised its demand through the media for a separate state -- Frontier Nagaland. The ENPO, representing six tribes (Chang, Konyak, Phom, Sangtam, Khiamniungan and Yimchunger ) of eastern Nagaland, has submitted a memorandum to the prime minister demanding the creation of a new state comprising of the Tuensang, Mon, Longleng and Kiphire districts in Nagaland and the Naga-dominated districts of Arunachal, Tirap and Changlang. New nomenclature for an old sentiment, the demand for a “Frontier Nagaland” is based on economics and history. “Our demand for the creation of Frontier Nagaland is something like going back to the earlier arrangement when the entire area was under the erstwhile Tuensang Frontier Division of NEFA (North East Frontier Agency),” said ENPO General Secretary Toshi Wungpung. He also alleged that for decades, gross injustice has been done to the people of these four districts by successive governments, both in the state and at the Centre. “Of the 11 districts in Nagaland, these four backward districts have almost half of the state’s total population. But despite that, they continue to remain extremely underdeveloped.”

He added that not more than 5 per cent of the population has government jobs and as there are no other job avenues, the economic situation is progressively deteriorating. “The issue of underdevelopment and neglect to the eastern part of Nagaland has been an issue doing the rounds for some time. The demand of job reservation for these underdeveloped areas had been gaining momentum so this demand of creation of a separate statehood is something very obvious in the present geopolitical scenario,” explained John Sema, a teacher of political science at Nagaland University.

While the demand for “Frontier Nagaland” gains popular support in Nagaland’s eastern districts, south of the border, communal tension in Manipur reached breaking point in mid-2010. On July 1, 2010, the Naga Peoples’ Convention (NPC) – the highest Naga decision-making body in Manipur – demanded an alternative arrangement. The Nagas residing in the hill districts of Manipur decided to sever all political ties with the “communal” government of Manipur and also declared the Autonomous District Council’s elections null and void. They approached the central government to work out an arrangement outside the Manipur state structure to fill the vacuum created in governance and administration.

The NPC letter to the Prime Minister states: “This drastic decision was necessitated by the unmistakable fact that it had become impossible for the Nagas to protect their right to life, land, time-honoured institutions, customary practices and values under the administration of the dominant and communal government of Manipur.”

According to the NPC, for years the hill districts of Manipur have been ignored by subsequent “Meitei-dominated” state governments. They are not only denied infrastructure development, education and medical facilities and employment opportunities, but also adequate representation. “The tribal areas in Manipur consist of 90 per cent of the land and 41 per cent of the state’s total population,” the letter states. “(However) the tribals have only 20 representatives in the House (state legislature) of 60. Each tribal MLA represents a population of 49,154 and about 1004.5 sq km on an average. On the other hand, Manipur valley (Meitei-dominated) consists of 10 per cent of land and 59 per cent of the state’s total population, but the valley has 40 MLAs who represents just 35,139 population and 55.9 sq km on an average.”

G Vashum, a member of the Alternate Arrangement Committee, said: “The third round of tripartite talks” between the Manipur government, the Centre and the Nagas has been called for. “But if they (the Centre) fail to deliver on their promises and the patience of the Naga people runs out, we could be faced with large-scale communal violence. We don’t want violence and that is why we are pushing to achieve a peaceful solution before the breaking point is reached.”

However, as a member of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation suggests, the solution to the Indo-Naga dispute lies in semantics. “The Indian concept of sovereignty is modern and it greatly differs from Naga sovereignty. In India, sovereignty lies with the state, but we are still a traditional society and Naga sovereignty lies with the people. If India decides to think out of the box and truly embrace her federal structure, Indian sovereignty and Naga sovereignty can coexist,” said Vashum. “These demands for statehood don’t contradict the idea of Naga sovereignty. But they are manifestations of the need to create a federal structure and allow the Nagas to rule themselves. Nagas and federalism are inseparable.”

A possible middle-path solution could be reached by taking the ideas of direct participation and multilayered accountability, the core essence of the traditional Naga village republics system and combining it with modern notions of universal rights and freedoms to create a new model.

With Thuingaleng Muivah and Isak Swu, the general secretary and chairman of NSCN (IM), respectively, in Delhi for talks with the Centre, it is important that both groups move beyond historical hurdles and look for a workable solution. If Naga sovereignty lies in the creation of village republics, maybe it is time to allow sovereignties to coexist and end the nation’s oldest “insurgency.” A truly democratic, inclusive federal structure, which shares power equally with men, women, the youth and non-Nagas, could offer a middle-path solution, combining the Naga system with the Indian Constitution.

Exploration For Hydrocarbon Deposits Begin in Mizoram

Aizawl, Feb 3 : Drilling for oil and gas exploration began near Meidum village in Kolasib district in the north western part of Mizoram from Tuesday, official sources said.

H Lallenmawia, joint director of the state geology and mineral resources department said, "This time we are extremely optimistic of finding hydrocarbon deposits as the drilling is undertaken after proper investigation with state-of-the-art technology and equipments."

Lallenmawia said that the ONGC, after seven years of investigation, commenced the exploration venture at a place about two kilometres from Meidum village on February one, in the presence of Joe Solu, ONGC''s basin manager (NE India).

Geologists said that Mizoram is virtually floating on oil and gas deposits and oil exploration majors like the ONGC,IOC, OIL and companies from Israel, the US, Russia and France have been selected to undertake the exploration works at different places in the state.

The investigation for oil exploration was taken up in an area of 12,430 square kilometres comprising 58.9 per cent of the total geographical area of Mizoram.

In accordance with the agreements signed with the exploration giants, 12 per cent of oil produced and 10 percent of gas produced would go to the state of Mizoram as royalty and as recommended by the 11th Finance Commission, the net profit would also be shared by the state and the central governments on 50-50 basis, Lallianmawia said.

Mizoram falls under the category number one or'' proven commercial productivity zone'' and according to rough estimates, there could be around 170 million metric tonne of untapped crude reserves.

Mizoram Anticipating Security Problems Post-Kaladan

By Rahul Karmakar

Guwahati, Feb 3 : Mizoram, the ‘island of peace’ in the Northeast, fears security problems after the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport becomes operational. New Delhi and Yangon had in April 2008 inked an agreement for the $ 120 million Kaladan project to be funded by India. The project envisages developing a trade route between India and Myanmar along river Kaladan.

The river flows down from Mizoram and joins the Bay of Bengal at Sittwe in Myanmar, where India is helping build a port. It, however, is navigable up to Setpyitpyin in Myanmar (close to border with Mizoram) from where goods are to be transported by road to and from Northeast India.

“Along with movement of essential goods and service we expect undesirable elements getting into and going out of the region. It is time that we evolve an effective strategy to deal with this possible development. For, prevention is always better than cure,” said Mizoram chief minister Lal Thanhawla at the chief ministers’ conference in New Delhi.

He added that the existing policy of providing central assistance to states to meet expenditure on internal security selectively should be modified. “Mizoram, where peace has not only been brought back after long years of disturbance but is also maintained, should not be discriminated merely because peace prevails,” he said.

In this connection, New Delhi should give incentive for maintenance of peace by way of providing Central assistance to meet expenditure on maintenance of internal security, Thanhawla said. “We brought back peace at a very heavy price and we must also pay a price for sustaining it.”

The Mizoram chief minister also underscored the need to associate traditional local institutions, particularly in tribal areas, in maintaining internal security. “For instance, village councils in Mizoram or village developmental boards in Nagaland could play a positive role in maintaining peace and order in their respective locality and also prevent activities of outside elements which can disturb peace,” he said.

He urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to consult the states so that a scheme at the national level in this regard can be formulated.

Jeopardising Peace For Politics

By S.K. Sinha

Assam is the key state of the Northeast (N-E). Its population is more than double the combined population of the remaining seven states of the region and its natural resources, in terms of oil, tea and minerals, far surpass those of all the other N-E states. Its geo-strategic location is crucial — the western district abuts the narrow Siliguri corridor. Surface communications to the other N-E states pass through Assam. If Assam gets cut off from the mainland, so does the entire land mass of the N-E.

Tribal insurgencies in the N-E affect a small segment of our population in the peripheral areas. The Naga insurgency has lost steam with the ceasefire holding in Nagaland for the last 14 years. Insurgency in Manipur continues as a low-key affair. The Mizo insurgency was resolved through a political settlement and installation of the undisputed insurgent leader, Laldenga, as Chief Minister of Mizoram. Attempts to replicate the Mizoram model in Assam, or Jammu and Kashmir, are unlikely to succeed because of demographic diversity and there being no one undisputed leader in these sates. The people of Assam felt discriminated against by the Centre in various ways. Assam had been left out of the Green Revolution. It was denied full benefits from its oil and tea resources. The unabated influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, encouraged by the ruling party for its votebank, has been affecting the state’s demographic profile: The Assamese fear they may become a minority in their own state.

In 1979, the Election Commission found the names of 70,000 illegal migrants in the voter list of Mangaldoi constituency. This ignited widespread upheaval in the state. A peaceful students’ movement with unprecedented mass support was started. Concurrently, United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) militancy started in tandem and gained great momentum, garnering tremendous resources, during five years of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) rule in the Eighties. The AGP government was dismissed and the Army called out to restore normalcy. It inflicted heavy attrition on Ulfa.

Arbinda Rajkhowa, the president of Ulfa, and Anup Chetia, its general secretary, agreed to peace talks in 1992 but wanted to bring Ulfa commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah from Bangladesh. They were allowed to go to that country for that purpose but they went underground and did not return. Then there was widespread popular support in Assam for Ulfa.

Insurgency was at its peak in 1997 when I took over as Governor of Assam. I remained in that appointment for six years, till 2003. We worked on a three-pronged strategy — unified command, economic development and psychological initiatives. Each prong yielded rich dividends. We had been fighting insurgency in the N-E for 40 years, yet we did not have a unified command. The Army, paramilitary and police were acting more as competing, rather than complementary, forces. We inflicted heavy attrition on Ulfa. This broke their back. On the economic front, our major achievement was to install one lakh shallow tube wells. This turned Assam from a rice-deficit to a rice-surplus state. As for psychological initiatives, my 42-page printed report to the President recommending repeal of the obnoxious The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) (IMDT) Act and other measures to stop illegal migration, which had been the rootcause of insurgency in Assam, took the people by storm. Various psychological initiatives with high emotive content were undertaken. The icons of Assam were projected as national heroes. Ulfa was isolated from the people. The rural people apprehended 81 Ulfa militants in different incidents. The Ulfa surrenders began to be witnessed appreciatively by thousands of people. Although the success achieved by us in Assam went largely unnoticed in our country, it drew attention in the US. Dr Anne Simons, in her monograph for the US’ National War College, mentions Assam as a counter-insurgency success story of the 20th century.

The gains of 2003 were frittered away for extraneous reasons. The IMDT Act, struck down by the Supreme Court, was brought back through the backdoor by the Central government, amending the Foreigners Tribunal Order of 1964. With the 2006 Assembly elections approaching, the state government ordered suspension of operations in January 2004. In an ill-conceived attempt to win over Ulfa, indirect talks through a peace consultative group were started. This process dragged on for over a year without any result. This suited Ulfa as it gave them all the time to reinforce and regroup. It was allowed to resuscitate itself for electoral gains at the cost of national security. The armed outfit responded by attacking Independence Day celebrations at a school in Dhemaji in which some 30 schoolchildren were killed. Emboldened by its new-found strength, Ulfa started periodic terrorist strikes. There was no support for them from the people. The National Games were to be held at Guwahati in 2007. The Chief Minister appealed to Ulfa not to disturb the games. This showed the CM’s lack of confidence in the security forces and lowered the dignity of his high office.

In 2010, the Bangladesh government handed over Arabinda Rajkhowa and some other top Ulfa leaders to India. Paresh Baruah escaped to China. Almost all the top Ulfa leaders were now in our captivity. With state Assembly elections to be held in April, the state government has tried to woo the rebel leadership. Rajkhowa and other top leaders were released on bail to hold unconditional peace talks. He was given a hero’s welcome all over Assam, with welcome arches and huge crowds. He has now declared that there can be no compromise on his demand for independence for Assam. Baruah has opposed the holding of talks and wants to continue the struggle. There are reports of Ulfa leaders holding secret conclaves. Some rebel leaders have openly vowed to avenge the attacks on their camps by the Royal Bhutan Army in December 2003. Bhutan has apprised India of its concerns. The reaction of Bangladesh, threatened by Islamists, is not known; however, Ulfa leaders have links with the latter. There is every possibility of Rajkhowa escaping again, as in 1992, and joining Baruah in China. Beijing has a golden opportunity to destabilise India in Assam. No matter what happens in the forthcoming elections in Assam, we have brought about a grave threat to our national security for petty electoral gain.

- The author, a retired lieutenant-general, was Vice-Chief of Army Staff and has served as governor of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.

Ethnic Strife-Hit Pupils May Miss Board Examinations

Shillong, Feb 3 : Over 200 hundred students, displaced in the recent ethnic clashes along the Assam-Meghalaya border, may miss their X or XII board exams beginning in the first week of March, though authorities concerned are trying to prevent that from happening.

Officials of the Meghalaya Board of Secondary Education ( MBoSE) led by its president will visit the violence-hit Mendipathar area of East Garo Hills district on Thursday to meet representatives of various schools for assessing the situation.

"They also plan to meet school inspectors on the next day to chalk out plans to ensure that students hit by the clashes do not lose an academic year," an official in the education department said.

Deputy commissioner Pravin Bakshi said the board would first make provisions for duplicate admit cards for the students, and may consider setting up a special examination centre for the displaced students.

Additional district magistrate of Meghalaya would be visiting the neighbouring Goalpara district of Assam on Wednesday where several families had taken shelter in the wake of the violence.

"He will prepare a list of the students taking shelter in the relief camps there," the DC said, adding that a similar survey of students was also being carried out in Meghalaya.

At least three schools were been burnt down by miscreants during the clashes between January 1 and 9 in Meghalaya.

On the other hand, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also asked for a status report of the children in the relief camps.

Officials said the commission would provide aide and assistance from the Centre for displaced children.

In East Garo Hills district, there are eight relief camps housing 1,774 people at present. About 8,000 people who fled to Assam are yet to return and were still lodged in relief camps.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross has also done a survey of the relief camps and is expected to extend aide to the displaced. Aide has also poured in from the Ram Krishna Mission.

The DC said a government compensation of Rs 10,000 to each family and CGI sheets would be distributed within a couple of days.

At least 12 people were killed and over 50,000 displaced in the ethnic clashes in both the neighbouring districts of Assam and Meghalaya.

California Superbike School India is a Hit!

By Varad More Photography by Aditya Bedre

The best known motorcycle training programme in the world, California Superbike School was in India last week and it helped several motorcycle enthusiasts in the country refine and hone their riding techniques within the controlled environs of the MMST race-track near Chennai.

After a successful stint last year, this year the California Superbike School returned to India in a bigger, better and more affordable manner. Founded by the best known motorcycle riding instructor and author of the iconic Twist of the Wrist series of books, Keith Code – the school specializes in training riders for racing as well as safe street-riding purposes. The effort is a brainchild of T.T. Varadarajan, (Managing Director of Preethi Mixer & Grinders) and an avid biker himself, who took charge of bring the school to India last year in order to help several riders train and hone their motorcycle riding skills and also sponsored a few riders in the first year of the school in India.

This year again Preethi took the onus along with help from TVS company and Red Rooster Racing team, to bring the school to India and thanks to their efforts, the school’s return was much more organised and grander than last year. A total of 45 motorcycle enthusiasts turned out from all parts of the country to coach under Keith Code, who was himself present this year to train the Indian riders along with his team of experienced trainers. From top level Indian motorcycle racers to newbie bikers, everyone was a part of the four day camp. The school offers four different levels of training on how to corner and ride a motorcycle to its true potential as well as staying safe. All the techniques taught by the school greatly help the rider to ride safely and responsibly on road as well as on the track.

The California Superbike School was founded in 1980 by Keith Code and it has trained over 1,50,000 riders including those in MotoGP, World Superbikes series and various other road-racing series. Until now the school has done over 30 million track miles and has presence in over 27 countries! It’s a fantastic initiative that helps one build over his or her riding skill to evolve into a safer yet faster rider. There are four levels and each rider, regardless of his previous experience in racing or street riding, has to undergo all four sessions. The rider can choose to take all sessions at one time or split them over a period of time as per convenience.

The training includes classroom sessions as well as on-track practice and the coaches give individual attention to all their students. There is no racing or competitive riding involved in the course of the training and every entrant has to strictly adhere to the school’s safety parameters. Twice that the school has been to India, the venue has been the MMST race-track in Sriperumbudur near Chennai as the 3.717km long circuit is the only superbike-friendly racetrack in the county as of now. The school is intent on returning to India again next year, and if enough sponsors step in, it could be a bi-annual event.

It is a fantastic effort which introduces new riders to correct motorcycle techniques and helps them evolve into better, safer and faster riders after practicing and learning the basics under controlled environment of a race-track. It is about time that big corporate entities realize the potential of motorcycling and its obsession amongst the younger generation in a country which has 60% youth population as well as world’s second largest two-wheeler market waiting to burst into the performance motorcycle band.

I Quit, Says Mubarak

As a million protesters hit the streets, Egyptian leader finally gives in

• President Mubarak confirms he is to stand down at election
• Military holding good to pledge not to fire on peaceful protesters
• King Abdullah of Jordan sacks prime ministers after protests
• 18,000 passengers stranded at Cairo Airport in dash to escape
• Foreign Office to send charter planes tomorrow to pick up British tourists
• Google provides a Twitter lifeline after last internet provider shuts down

Egypt's detested leader Hosni Mubarak last night agreed to ­relinquish his grip on power..

After a momentous day of mass protests, which saw up to a million people pour out onto the streets of Egypt’s main cities, the ageing leader went on television to say he would not stand again for election.

Following meetings with advisers and top military brass, Mr Mubarak announced his decision in a ten-minute televised speech to the nation last night.

Going: President Mubarak announced his plan to step aside in a televised address last night

Lighting up the scene: The sun sets on Tahrir Square and a day which passed off peacefully - with the military holding good on its promise not to fire on the protesters

Vowing he would step aside in September at the next presidential election, the 82-year-old said: ‘In all sincerity, regardless of the current circumstance, I never intended to be a candidate for another term.’

He said Egyptians now wanted to choose between ‘chaos and confusion’, adding that he would not flee and intended to die in Egypt.

‘I have never wanted to be in power,’ he said. ‘I have never betrayed anyone and have never run from responsibility.

'Now my responsibility is stability in the country and to establish and fulfil the transition in the circumstances that would allow the Egyptian people peace and for them to choose whoever they want to chose in the next elections ... Egypt will get out of this situation and it will be stronger than it was, more confident.'

He added he will work during 'the final months of my current term' to carry out the 'necessary steps for the peaceful transfer of power'.

Venting their anger: Protesters in a 250,00-strong crowd voice their opposition to the regime in Cairo yesterday

Preparing for long night: Protesters continued to file into Tahrir Square all day with banners, many of them in English, demanding Mubarak's removal

Praying for peace: The protesters kneel towards Mecca ahead of the eighth day of street demonstrations in Cairo

ISRAEL FEARS EGYPT COULD BECOME A RADICAL ISLAMIC REGIME - LIKE IRAN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he feared Egypt could end up with a radical Islamic regime like in Iran.

Netanyahu's comments were his sharpest since protests began last week demanding the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, Israel's most significant and oldest ally in the Arab world.

'Our real fear is of a situation that could develop ... and which has already developed in several countries including Iran itself - repressive regimes of radical Islam,' he told a news conference alongside visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Netanyahu said he hoped Israel's three-decade-old peace treaty with Egypt would survive any changes that were taking place in Cairo.

'We are all following with vigilance, with worry and hope that indeed the peace and stability will be preserved,' he said, alluding to the treaty Israel signed with Egypt in 1979, its first of two with an Arab nation.

Mr Mubarak said he planned to implement reforms desired by the protesters in the remainder of his time in office.

It is thought he has also agreed not to allow his hated son, Gamal, to stand for election.

Egypt’s band of opposition parties, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, have begun to coalesce around the figure of Mohamed El Baradei, a Nobel Peace laureate for his work as head of the UN nuclear agency.

Earlier in the day in Cairo, effigies of Mr Mubarak were hung from lamp-posts, as people screamed for him to quit, likening him to Hitler and a donkey.

After the president’s speech, jubilant demonstrators in the city’s jammed Tahrir (Liberation) Square cheered but began chanting for him to leave power immediately.

Khaled Osman, 40, a tourist guide from Aswan, said: ‘I am so happy that the old man has finally given up. But he must go now. And we will stay here campaigning until he goes.

'The game is over, he knows that.’

Tourist guide Mohammed Al Gawad, 33, from Hurghada, said: ‘We have had enough of his brutality. We want to be free.

‘We want to decide our own destiny. And we want jobs. These are the things that Mubarak has not given us. He just stole our money.’

Mr Mubarak’s move, following eight days of continuous protests, could send shockwaves across the Middle East, which has seen two strongmen kicked out of office in two months following a similar overthrowing in Tunisia.

Attention will now to turn to regimes such as Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to see if there will be changes there.

Earlier yesterday, Jordan’s King Abdullah replaced his prime minister in a bid to head off a copycat revolution amid street protests over poor living conditions.

The power-shifts could have major consequences for Israel, as Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab countries to formally recognise Israel.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu signalled his concern that a pro-Islamist regime may take shape in Egypt.

The announcement came after the largest day yet of protests, in which demonstrators sang nationalist songs and chanted the anti-Mubarak 'Leave! Leave! Leave!' as military helicopters buzzed overhead.

Soldiers at checkpoints set up the entrances of the square did nothing to stop the crowds from entering.

THE £25BN FAMILY NEST EGG

He may have been hounded out of power, but Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak can take solace in a family fortune said to be worth up to £25billion.

Much is reportedly squirrelled abroad in a string of bank accounts and properties in Britain, the U.S., Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain and Dubai.

The hoard was revealed by an Algerian newspaper, which claimed to have obtained confidential documents.

The president himself is said to have amassed £6billion, while his half-Welsh wife Suzanne is worth up to £3billion.

The couple’s eldest son, banker Alaa, is said to own U.S. property worth £5billion.

Second son Gamal is said to have an even bigger global portfolio worth £10.5billion, including a five-storey Georgian town house in Knightsbridge, London.

Protesters had also gathered in at least five other cities across Egypt, confident there would be no heavy-handed military tactics after the army statement, aired on state TV on Monday night, which promised to recognise 'the legitimacy of the people's demands'.

It was the strongest sign yet that it was willing to let the protests continue and even grow as long as they remain peaceful - regardless of whether it would have led to the fall of Mubarak.

Organisers had even hoped as many as two million people might take to the streets after the previous night's flag-waving and slogan chanting took place in an almost jolly atmosphere.

A curfew had been ignored for the fourth straight day and yesterday morning prayers were undertaken peacefully in Tahrir Square before getting down to the real business of the day: ousting Mubarak, 82, after three decades in power.

'This is the end for him. It's time,' said Musab Galal, a 23-year-old unemployed university graduate who came by minibus with his friends from the Nile Delta city of Menoufiya

The president's attempts to defuse the crisis had fallen flat and failed to appease the gathering demonstrators.

His main political ally, the United States, had also roundly rejected his efforts and announcement of a new government on Monday, which dropped his highly unpopular interior minister, who heads the police forces, and has been widely denounced by the protesters.

Demonstrators had been equally unimpressed by the measures.

Staking out ground: Soldiers position tanks to guard the television building in Cairo. Many roads were shut and public transport cancelled

Youthful zeal: Young children climbed up on a tank to show the friendly nature of the protest

Peace blossoms: Two Egyptians hand a long-stemmmed flower to an Egyptian soldier in an armoured personnel carrier in Cairo

JORDAN'S PRIME MINISTER SACKED

Jordan's King Abdullah II fired his government yesterday in the wake of street protests and asked an ex-prime minister to form a new Cabinet.

The dismissal follows several large protests across Jordan calling for the resignation of Samir Rifai, who is blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slowed political reforms.

A Royal Palace statement said Abdullah accepted Rifai's resignation tendered earlier. The king named Marouf al-Bakhit as his prime minister-designate, instructing him to 'undertake quick and tangible steps for real political reforms, which reflect our vision for comprehensive modernisation and development in Jordan'.

Al-Bakhit previously served as Jordan's premier from 2005-2007.

The king also stressed that economic reform was a 'necessity to provide a better life for our people, but we won't be able to attain that without real political reforms, which must increase popular participation in the decision-making.'

He asked al-Bakhit for a 'comprehensive assessment... to correct the mistakes of the past'.

King Abdullah vowed to press ahead with political reforms initiated by his late father, King Hussein, when he inherited the crown in 1999.

Those reforms paved the way for the first parliamentary election in 1989 after a 22-year gap, the revival of a multi-party system and the suspension of martial law, in effect since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

The protesters had been more organised than on previous days. Volunteers wearing tags reading 'the People's Security' circulated through the crowds, saying they were watching for government infiltrators who might try to instigate violence.

'We will throw out anyone who tries to create trouble,' one announced over a loudspeaker. Other volunteers joined the soldiers at the checkpoints, searching bags of those entering for weapons. Organisers said the protest would remain in the square and not attempt to march to avoid frictions with the military.

Many protesters felt that Mubarak is a friend of Israel, still seen by most Egyptians as their country's archenemy more than 30 years after the two nations signed a peace treaty.

Every protester had their own story of why they came - with a shared theme of frustration with a life pinned in by corruption, low wages, crushed opportunities and abuse by authorities.

Sahar Ahmad, a 41-year-old school teacher and mother of one, said she has taught for 22 years and still only makes about $70 a month.

'There are 120 students in my classroom. That's more than any teacher can handle,' said Ahmad.

'For me, change would mean a better education system I can teach in and one that guarantees my students a good life after school. If there is democracy in my country, then I can ask for democracy in my own home.'

Tamer Adly, a driver of one of the thousands of minibuses that ferry commuters around Cairo, said he was sick of the daily humiliation he felt from police who demand free rides and send him on petty errands, reflecting the widespread public anger at police high-handedness.

'They would force me to share my breakfast with them ... force me to go fetch them a newspaper. This country should not just be about one person,' the 30-year-old lamented, referring to Mubarak.

An effigy depicting President Hosni Mubarak was seen hanging on a traffic light in downtown Cairo

Symbolic: A close up shows a man stepping on a banner bearing a portrait of Hosni Mubarak reading in Arabic 'we demand that you leave' and shells of ammunition allegedly fired by security forces in the last days

Time to go: Egyptian clergy gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square and chanted slogans calling for the removal of Hosni Mubarak

Among the older protesters there was also a sense of amazement after three decades of unquestioned control by Mubarak's security forces over the streets.

'We could never say no to Mubarak when we were young, but our young people today proved that they can say no, and I'm here to support them,' said Yusra Mahmoud, a 46-year-old school principal who said she had been sleeping in the square alongside other protesters for the previous two nights.

Dash of colour: A brightly dressed woman joins the crowds to pray and chant in Tahrir Square

Joining the throng: Women join the annti-government protesters in the march toward the Tahrir square

Young blood: A mother carries her daughter on her shoulders with the word 'Masr' or 'Egypt' - a sign that protesters are hoping for a peaceful march

A TWITTER LIFELINE FROM GOOGLE

Google has launched a special service to allow people in Egypt to send Twitter messages by dialling a phone number and leaving a voicemail, as Internet access remains cut off in the country amid anti-government protests.

'Like many people we've been glued to the news unfolding in Egypt and thinking of what we could do to help people on the ground,' read a post on Google's official corporate blog.

The service, which Google said was developed with engineers from Twitter, allows people to dial a telephone number and leave a voicemail.

The voicemail is automatically translated into an audio file message that is sent on Twitter using the identifying tag £egypt, Google said.

Among those who have Tweeted from Cairo were New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof who warned that the sense of anticipation reminded him of a previous tragedy in China.

He wote: 'Fabulous, giddy mood at Tahrir. Love the campfires. But 1 troubling thought: Tiananmen was the same before the shooting.'

Google said in the blog post, titled 'Some weekend work that will (hopefully) enable more Egyptians to be heard,' that no Internet connection is needed to use the service.

It listed listed three phone numbers for people to call to use the service, which are: +16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855.

A leaflet circulated saying it was time for the military to choose between Mubarak and the people, and a frequently heard chant promised: 'He only needs a push!'

On Monday Vice President Omar Suleiman - appointed by Mubarak only two days earlier - went on state TV to announce the offer of a dialogue with 'political forces' for constitutional and legislative reforms.

Suleiman did not say what the changes would entail or which groups the government would speak with.

Opposition forces have long demanded the lifting of restrictions on who is eligible to run for president to allow a real challenge to the ruling party, as well as measures to ensure elections are fair.

However, Sir Andrew Green, former director of the Middle East for the Foreign Office, warned that there would be 'chaos' for some time to come in Egypt.

The retired diplomat warned that the West would miss the stability that President Mubarak gave as Egypt was now in a 'revolutionary' stage.

Sir Andrew told Channel 4 News: 'In Egypt, there is no prince over the water waiting to take over.'

Even if democracy prevails, Sir Andrew said 'There is no way they can in a very short amount of time produce a stable and balanced government.'

The U.S. is working diplomatic channels behind the scenes in a bid to smooth any governmental transition, yet it seemed to have abandoned any support for Mubarak. 

President Barack Obama said last night that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak must begin a transition immediately toward a new government and assured protesters demanding the ousting of their longtime leader that 'we hear your voices.'

Slogan: A protester complains at the cutting off of internet services in Egypt to restrict the protests

The transition 'must be meaningful, it must be peaceful and it must begin now,' Obama said at the White House after speaking with the Egyptian president by telephone for 30 minutes.

The State Department had sent a retired senior diplomat - former ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner - to meet Egyptian officials in Cairo to urge them to embrace broad economic and political changes that can pave the way for free and fair elections.

The army statement, aired on state TV, said the powerful military recognizes 'the legitimacy of the people's demands' - the strongest sign that it was willing to let the protests continue and even grow as long as they remain peaceful.

LOOTERS PILLAGE ARTEFACTS FROM EGYPT'S ANCIENT PAST

Looters targeted the world-renown Egyptian Museum and hurled mummy parts over the floor

Looters have pillaged a number of warehouses containing ancient Egyptian artefacts, stealing and damaging some of them.

A group of looters attacked a warehouse at the Qantara Museum near the city of Ismailia on the Suez Canal that contained 3,000 objects from the Roman and Byzantine periods, a source at the tourism police said.

Many of the objects had been found in Sinai by the Israelis after they occupied the peninsula during the 1967 war with Egypt, and had only been recently returned to Egypt.

A worker at the warehouse said the looters had said they were searching for gold. The worker told them there was no gold but they continued to pillage the storehouse, smashing some items and taking others.

An archaeologist said warehouses near the pyramids of Saqqara and Abu Sir were also looted.

'At other locations, guards and villagers were able to successfully repel gangs of looters,' the archaeologist said.

On Friday, looters broke into the Cairo museum, home to the world's greatest collection of Pharaonic treasures, smashing several statues and damaging two mummies, while police battled anti-government protesters on the streets.

The culture, monuments, temples and pyramids of ancient Egypt have left a lasting legacy on the world and are a major draw for the country's tourism industry. 

For days, army tanks and troops have surrounded Tahrir Square, keeping the protests confined but doing nothing to stop people from joining.

Military spokesman Ismail Etman said the military 'has not and will not use force against the public' and underlined that 'the freedom of peaceful expression is guaranteed for everyone.'

He added the caveats, however, that protesters should not commit 'any act that destabilizes security of the country' or damage property.

Looting that erupted over the weekend across the city of around 18 million has eased - but Egyptians endured another day of the virtual halt of normal life, raising fears of damage to the economy if the crisis drags on.

Trains stopped running on Monday, possibly an attempt by authorities to prevent residents of the provinces from joining protests in the capital.

A curfew which had been imposed for a fourth straight day - starting an hour earlier, at 3pm - was widely ignored.

Banks, schools and the stock market in Cairo were closed for the second working day, making cash tight.

An unprecedented complete shutdown of the Internet was also in its fourth day. Long lines formed outside bakeries as people tried to replenish their stores of bread.

Cairo's international airport was a scene of chaos as thousands of foreigners sought to flee the unrest, and countries around the world scrambled to send in planes to fly their citizens out.

Yesterday, there were more than 18,000 passengers stranded there as food supplies dwindled and airport staff were thin on the ground.

Some tourists even reported being forced to pay bribes to policemen before being permitted to board what planes did manage to take off.

But as the struggle for calm continued, there were serious doubts about what will follow now Mubarak has been toppled.

Can this eruption of anger largely by grass-roots activists coalesce into a unified political leadership?

There were signs on Monday of an attempt to do so with around 30 representatives from various opposition groups meeting to work out a joint stance.

They were scheduled to meet again yesterday to continue the discussions but unity is far from certain among groups with sometimes conflicting agendas.

There are students, online activists, grass-roots organizers, old-school opposition politicians and the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, along with everyday citizens drawn by the exhilaration of marching against the government.

Evacuation plan: Foreign Secretary William Hague told the House of Commons that Egypt needs a 'broad-based government' that will allow an 'orderly transition' in the country

The various protesters have little in common beyond the demand that Mubarak go.

Perhaps the most significant tensions among them is between young secular activists and the Muslim Brotherhood, which wants to form an Islamist state in the Arab world's largest nation.

The more secular are deeply suspicious as the Brotherhood aims to co-opt what they contend is a spontaneous, popular movement. American officials have suggested they have similar fears.

The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood remains Egypt's largest opposition movement.

In a nod to the suspicions, Brotherhood figures insist they are not seeking a leadership role.

'We don't want to harm this revolution,' Mohamed Mahdi Akef, a former leader of the group.

Cairo airport on Monday was a scene of near-chaos as thousands of holidaymakers tried to get home from Egypt.

An estimated 18,000 were still stuck there yesterday, although many British citizens and other holidaymakers in Sharm el Sheikh and the Red Sea resorts are staying put.

Britain will send a charter aircraft to Egypt today to bring back Britons who wish to leave, Foreign Secretary William Hague told the Commons yesterday .

'I have ... decided to send a charter aircraft to enable further British nationals to leave the country if they wish to do so,' he said.

'That will set off for Egypt [] and I will send further flights if necessary, just to make sure that people are able to leave if they wish to do so,' he said.

The 200-seat flight will supplement commercial flights, and will cost £300 a ticket.

Last night British travellers said the response was too little too late.

Nardia Ali, 27, a teacher from Leeds who called the Foreign Office two days ago, said: ‘They told me there was nothing to worry about but to ... lock myself in the bathroom.

‘It’s absolutely disgraceful.’