Mubarak has gone. Victory for the Egyptian masses.

In a major victory the Egyptian masses have brought down Mubarak. We must all celebrate this. We were crying in our household when the news came over the TV. We had been terrified the tanks would open up on the people on the streets and carry out a slaughter. But this did not happen. All credit to the courage of the Egyptian masses.

This bringing down of Mubarak is an event of world significance. The largest most important Arab country, with a population of over 80 million, has just had its President overthrown by a mass direct action street movement. This victory through mass direct action opens up a new period for Egypt and for the entire Middle East. As well as all the other issues Imperialism has been dealt a major blow throughout the entire Middle East.

The Tunisian movement inspired the Egyptian movement. The big question now is which countries will be inspired next by the victory in Egypt? Can we expect regimes in other countries to fall. There will certainly be a tendency in this direction. The famous dominoes can began to fall. US imperialism's stooges are all weakened. The masses in every Middle Eastern country have been inspired and strengthened. The newly victorious Egyptian masses must turn their eyes to the masses in the rest of the Middle East Arab and non Arab alike.

What about the next steps in Egypt itself. It is not good that the new power is the Military High Command. These people and this institution have been part of the old regime for thirty years and is an integral part of the entire economic and political and military structure of the old Egypt and works with the US government and military and CIA. this new power must be rejected.

What is necessary now are elections to a body that will draw up a new constitution, that is the holding of elections to a constituent assembly which would be elected on the basis of one person one vote. We would argue that this constituent assembly would draw up a new constitution which would have the basic democratic changes that we all would expect but more than that. The new constitution should be based on the working class not the existing ruling class as the foundation of the new state. And based on socialism, not capitalism, as the new system under which the new Egypt would be built. The new Egypt should be a democratic socialist Egypt.

Then there is the wider international question. The new constitution should be based on putting forward the alternative for the Middle East. That is that the new Egypt should take the lead to bring together democratic elected representatives of the working class from every country in the Middle east, not only the Arab countries but all the countries of the region. Such an initiative should begin the movement to build a Democratic Socialist Federation of the Middle East.