Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak just appeared on television, live, in what was apparently a pre-recorded message, to address the massive protests that have erupted throughout the country this week. At the end of his speech, which mostly addressed economic issues, he said he has asked the current government (meaning, basically, his cabinet) to resign, and says he will form a new one tomorrow. With him remaining in power as president.

Contrast this with the “demands” document widely distributed throughout Egypt today by demonstrators, translated here at manalaa.net…

People wanted to
overthrow the regime

We are the masses
in the sit in in Tahrir Square, who ignited the spark of the
uprising against injustice and tyranny, where raised by the
will of the people, the people who suffered 30 years of
oppression, injustice and poverty under the rule of Mubarak,
and his cronies in the National Party .

Egyptians have
proven today that they are capable of extricating their freedom
and destroying tyranny

The people’s demands were
vocalized today in their chants:

1. Mubarak’s
immediate stepping down from power.
2. The
resignation of the cabinet.
3. the dissolution of the
fraudulent parliament
4. The formation of a national
government.

We will continue to sit-in until our
demands are met, and we call upon the masses all over Egypt and
the trade unions, professional syndicates, political parties,
and institutions to rise up and extricate these
demands.

let us strike and sit-in and protest
everywhere, untill we topple the regime

UPDATE: The
New York Times has updated their lead
story with coverage of Mubarak’s speech.

PHOTO: Protesters carry a carpet
with an image of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, with a shoe
placed on it, in Suez January 28, 2011. Mubarak imposed a
curfew and ordered troops to back up police as they struggled
to control crowds who flooded the streets of Cairo and other
Egyptian cities on Friday to demand that he step down.
(REUTERS/Mohamed Abdel
Ghany)