0:00:02 > 0:00:08This programme contains some strong language and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting
0:00:08 > 0:00:13This year, a generation of young people rose up against the hated despots who ruled their countries.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17Gaddafi is destroy our country, and now we can taste the freedom.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22But the way these revolutions began caught the world off guard.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25The weapons of the activists of the so-called Arab Spring,
0:00:25 > 0:00:30weren't guns and bombs, but the internet and the mobile phone.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35For the first time in history, world changing events were recorded
0:00:35 > 0:00:39hour-by-hour by the man and woman on the street.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42A unique, filmed record now exists
0:00:42 > 0:00:46charting the downfall of tyrants in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
0:00:48 > 0:00:49GUNFIRE
0:00:49 > 0:00:53And exposing the unimaginable brutality
0:00:53 > 0:00:56of embattled regimes in other parts of the Arab world.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04I'm now heading to the region
0:01:04 > 0:01:07to track down the people behind these images.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12TRANSLATION: Somebody had to show the outside world what was happening.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14WHISTLING AND SHOUTING
0:01:17 > 0:01:21I'll pieced together the story of the revolutions through their eyes.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26- TRANSLATION: - He's abandoning his position
0:01:26 > 0:01:29as President of the Republic! I ran into the street.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32- TRANSLATION:- I started to cry, I laid down,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35looked up at the sky and I couldn't believe it. We all hugged each other.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38CHANTING
0:01:40 > 0:01:44And I'll meet the activist whose struggle is still going on.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48These are the last moments of someone's life.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52GUNFIRE
0:02:01 > 0:02:02Few visitors to Tunisia
0:02:02 > 0:02:05ever get beyond its Mediterranean beach resorts.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09But as you travel south, you enter a different world -
0:02:09 > 0:02:12rural, poor and largely forgotten.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19150 miles south of the Tunisian capital
0:02:19 > 0:02:23lies the small market town of Sidi Bouzid.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26It was here, in December 2010,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30that the dramatic suicide of a young fruit seller
0:02:30 > 0:02:33would ignite revolution in Tunisia
0:02:33 > 0:02:35and send the Arab world into turmoil.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41In the past, what happened here could have been suppressed,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44censored from newspapers and television.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50But something of worldwide importance was about to happen.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Disenfranchised people everywhere were about to discover
0:02:54 > 0:02:56that the internet revolution
0:02:56 > 0:02:59had tipped the balance of power in their favour.
0:03:05 > 0:03:1026-year-old Mohammad Bouazizi supported a large family,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12selling fruit on the streets of Sidi Bouzid.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17For years, he and his fellow fruit sellers had been tormented
0:03:17 > 0:03:21by corrupt local officials who demanded backhanders at every turn.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27- TRANSLATION:- We wanted to get on with our work,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30but they wouldn't let us.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32They called what we did a public disorder.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38- TRANSLATION:- We had to pay bribes to get our stuff back.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41And when we asked why, they would ignore us.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44That's what it was like.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50On Friday December 17th last year,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Mohammad Bouazizi set up his stall near the central mosque,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57but he didn't have the money needed to pay the bribes to be there.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02TRANSLATION: On Friday,
0:04:02 > 0:04:07he went and he set up his stall to start selling his produce.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11And then a police woman arrived and took everything off him.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16As the tension mounted, a crowd started to gather.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19She stood in front of him,
0:04:19 > 0:04:24smacked him in the face, spat at him and she swore at him.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26He got very upset and started crying.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30And the other police officers were kicking him in the shins.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Humiliated, Mohammad headed here to the town hall
0:04:37 > 0:04:39where he tried to lodge a complaint.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41But it fell on deaf ears.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45They didn't want to listen to him, they didn't want to open the door,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49he was terribly upset and disappointed,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51he'd lost his confidence, self-control, his hope.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56When he left here, he went to a nearby shop
0:04:56 > 0:05:00and bought a bottle of fuel. He returned here with the fuel,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03chose a spot in front of the same building,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06poured the fuel over himself and then set himself alight.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Horrifically injured, Mohammad was taken to hospital.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17In this small, closely knit town, word travelled fast.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Bouazizi's frustration struck a chord
0:05:21 > 0:05:24both here and across the Arab world.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30TRANSLATION: Mohamed burned himself because he had no job,
0:05:30 > 0:05:31no money and no prospects.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37SHOUTING
0:05:42 > 0:05:44The next day, hundreds of people gathered at the spot
0:05:44 > 0:05:47where Mohammad had set himself alight.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Men and women who, like him, struggled to make ends meet
0:05:51 > 0:05:54and felt their government wasn't listening to them.
0:05:58 > 0:06:04Among them were two of his friends, Wissam Guidri and Bassam Chicri.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07The people started shouting
0:06:07 > 0:06:09and asking questions in front of the town hall.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Asking the Governor why Bouazizi had burned himself
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and no-one had listened.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19SHOUTING AND WHISTLING
0:06:22 > 0:06:27Slowly, slowly the situation started to heat up.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30THEY CHANT
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Demonstrations were almost unheard of in Tunisia.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46But in every protester's pocket
0:06:46 > 0:06:49was a tool to show the world what happened -
0:06:49 > 0:06:51a mobile phone.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57'Wissam and Bassam explained to me how, that night,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00'the demonstration turned into a street battle.'
0:07:03 > 0:07:07- TRANSLATION:- We started a peaceful demonstration, but the police
0:07:07 > 0:07:10tried to crush us violently. We had to defend ourselves.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15We started throwing stones, anything we could get our hands on.
0:07:15 > 0:07:16Soon it became a confrontation.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21They were throwing tear gas at us.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25That night, the confrontation became a street war.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41We started lighting anything we could get our hands on.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44We were throwing stones and they were shooting live bullets.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING
0:07:56 > 0:07:59But despite the rarity of the events in Sidi Bouzid,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03Tunisian state television reported nothing of what was happening.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Tunisia may have been a popular holiday destination,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20but under the leadership of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24it was also a police state, where the press was censored.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Wissam and Bassam decided to take matters into their own hands.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Somebody had to show the outside world what was happening.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36As the battle intensified,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39they made sure that they captured the evidence.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Police were looking for anyone filming, to arrest them.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51We had people filming from the front line and from the rooftops.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55They weren't professionals, but they knew how to do it.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Filming from hidden vantage points, they got shots from every angle.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07SHOUTING AND WHISTLING
0:09:09 > 0:09:12EXPLOSION
0:09:22 > 0:09:25They knew there was one way to show the images
0:09:25 > 0:09:28to people across Tunisia - Facebook.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Tunisia had two million Facebook users,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37or one in five of the entire population.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40While Ben Ali blocked access to political sites,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43he rarely interfered with Facebook,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46viewing it as purely recreational,
0:09:46 > 0:09:49somewhere for people to discuss football scores and dating.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57In the capital, Tunis, a young computer programmer, Slim Amamou,
0:09:57 > 0:10:04spotted the extraordinary footage coming out of Sidi Bouzid.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10TRANSLATION: The video I saw showed burned-out cars,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12young people throwing stones.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14And it was a video taken on a mobile.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17One of the young people throwing stones was saying,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19"Who is going to let our voice be heard?
0:10:19 > 0:10:22"We are not animals, so why are we being ignored?"
0:10:22 > 0:10:25THEY SPEAK IN THEIR NATIVE TONGUE
0:10:28 > 0:10:31On the face of it, Slim Amamou and his friend,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34computer engineer Azyz Amami,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37had little in common with the fruit sellers of Sidi Bouzid.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40They were university-educated,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42privileged, the children of the well-to-do.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47What they shared was a hatred of their president
0:10:47 > 0:10:51and a frustration that they couldn't speak freely in their own country.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57TRANSLATION: Ben Ali was so stupid and arrogant
0:10:57 > 0:11:00that he wouldn't let anyone have a laugh about him.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03When you can't have a laugh, you can't criticise.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06You can't have a view, and you can't even have your own personality.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09That's what made me hate him most.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16Ben Ali liked to portray himself as a modern, enlightened leader,
0:11:16 > 0:11:20but in reality, he was one of a cluster of dictators
0:11:20 > 0:11:22controlling the Arab world,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24including Hosni Mubarak in Egypt,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Muammar Gaddafi in Libya,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29and Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33They rigged elections and tortured dissidents.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Ben Ali's corruption was notorious.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41He enriched himself at his people's expense,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45and his personal fortune was said to be more than £3.5 billion.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53For more than five years,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Slim and Azyz had been writing blogs satirising the regime,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00sharing their grievances with other dissident bloggers in the region.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07TRANSLATION: Looking at all the dictatorships in the Arab world,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10you could see it all as part of one single dictatorship.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14A collective consciousness emerged via the internet
0:12:14 > 0:12:16because the internet is immediate.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20In fact, the Tunisian bloggers had access
0:12:20 > 0:12:24to one of the most advanced internet infrastructures in the Arab world.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28A quarter of homes had broadband,
0:12:28 > 0:12:3090% of Tunisians a mobile phone.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35In his bid to modernise the country's economy,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39Ben Ali risked exposing his citizens to unwelcome outside influences.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45His solution was the censorship of all political sites.
0:12:47 > 0:12:53But for this tech savvy generation, censorship was no obstacle.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57The beauty of the internet is that there is no single central hub,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01but instead, and infinite number of pathways to communicate.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05By routing messages through networks in other countries,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08they were able to avoid Tunisian censorship altogether
0:13:08 > 0:13:11and gain access to any forbidden site.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20If they were caught posting subversive material online,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23the bloggers faced detention and torture.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32TRANSLATION: Fear is an enemy. You can't live when you are afraid.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36As I saw it, what blocked Tunisia was this cycle of fear,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and we had to start breaking the cycle of fear.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42When the activists saw the footage coming out of Sidi Bouzid,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46it was the opportunity they'd been waiting for.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51TRANSLATION: And for me, that really changed everything.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55It was truly the trigger for direct confrontation.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Slim and Azyz posted the videos on their own Facebook pages.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03It didn't take long for them to go viral.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10TRANSLATION: The videos were broadcast on the internet
0:14:10 > 0:14:13and social networks at lightning speed.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15It was a speed that was uncontrollable.
0:14:15 > 0:14:21Within days, the phone footage was picked up by the Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera
0:14:21 > 0:14:24and was being seen across Tunisia.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31Copycat demonstrations now broke out close to Sidi Bouzid
0:14:31 > 0:14:35in the southern towns of Kasserine and Medenin.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38But the capital, Tunis, remained stubbornly quiet.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50TRANSLATION: We said it is now or never. Tunis must be mobilised.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Sidi Bouzid, Kasserine, Medenin, which had started to move.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56They must be sent the message that Tunis is with them.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59That they are not alone in their struggle.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Comparatively wealthy and cosmopolitan, on the face of it,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Tunis didn't have the grievances of the poverty-stricken south.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12The activists needed the support of Tunis' working men and women,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16but the leaders of the national trade union, the UGTT,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19were known to be government stooges.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22They needed a way to reach the rank-and-file,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25and so they tried a daring short cut -
0:15:25 > 0:15:29hacking into the main union website and sending a message asking
0:15:29 > 0:15:33its members to join them here in Muhammad Ali Square
0:15:33 > 0:15:34in the centre of Tunis.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37They had no idea if anyone would respond.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48On the morning of the protest, anticipating trouble,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51the authorities set up roadblocks in the centre of the city,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55but the activists were one step ahead.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58TRANSLATION: Every time I saw a policeman on a corner
0:15:58 > 0:16:01I would post it on Twitter, "Be careful. Don't take that street
0:16:01 > 0:16:03"because it's full of policemen.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06"Take this one. I'm going to try this one."
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Only when they'd got to the square did they realise the level
0:16:11 > 0:16:12of their support.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25TRANSLATION: Lots of those demonstrating
0:16:25 > 0:16:26couldn't believe their eyes.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29People who were totally enraged, people I knew,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32people I didn't know, people who were demonstrating for the first time,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34sobbing with all their might.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36CROWD CHANTS
0:16:48 > 0:16:52I took a photograph in such a way as to show how big the crowd was,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55stating, "Muhammad Ali Square now.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58"It's happening now. This is the place to be."
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Fearing arrest, Slim had taken a precaution to make sure
0:17:06 > 0:17:10the protests would be seen, even if his mobile was confiscated.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17- TRANSLATION:- I installed the software which would allow live streaming
0:17:17 > 0:17:20on the internet from my phone.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26Across Tunisia, people now watched live on their laptops and mobiles
0:17:26 > 0:17:28as Tunis joined the revolt.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39There was a point when everybody began to say, "Ben Ali, get out!"
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Everybody.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47And once these words were out there was no more fear,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50everyone had left their fear behind.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Claiming that the protests were the work of armed gangs,
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Ben Ali responded swiftly and ruthlessly.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Tear gas was soon replaced with live rounds
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and unarmed protesters were shot dead.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13CROWD NOISE AND GUN SHOTS
0:18:20 > 0:18:22HE CRIES OUT
0:18:29 > 0:18:34With his country now in chaos, Ben Ali went on a PR offensive.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37He even had himself photographed with Mohamed Bouazizi,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40the young fruit seller who lay dying in hospital.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43No-one was impressed.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49The following day, Ben Ali struck back at the internet activists.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52At just after 1pm on 6th January,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Slim and Azyz were arrested and taken
0:18:55 > 0:18:58to the Ministry of the Interior for interrogation.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04No doubt they thought I was, I don't know,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Dr No from James Bond...
0:19:09 > 0:19:12..pulling all these strings.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19But it was too late.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23The whole country was now in open revolt.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27In the city of Douz, protesters set fire to police vehicles.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32In Tunis, protesters took control of the streets
0:19:32 > 0:19:35and police officers responded with live fire.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37GUNFIRE
0:19:51 > 0:19:54CLAPPING AND CHEERING
0:19:57 > 0:20:00CHEERING AND SHOUTING
0:20:03 > 0:20:08Soon, almost 150 people would be dead.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11On 13th January,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Ben Ali made a last bid to win back his people.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46The speech didn't have the desired effect.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Tunisians were now beyond compromise.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52The next day, hundreds of thousands of people marched here
0:20:52 > 0:20:56along Avenue Bourguiba, heading for the hated Ministry of the Interior.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01MAN SPEAKS IN FRENCH
0:21:01 > 0:21:04TRANSLATION: I got out of prison on the 13th.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07The next day at 8.30am, I found myself on the street,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10as I had never seen it before.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15- TRANSLATION:- We went out onto the streets and everything was on fire.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19You have to understand that on 6th January, when we were arrested,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Tunisia was the same old Tunisia we'd always known.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27Now, it was a completely different Tunisia. It was revolution.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37Tens of thousands of Tunisians were surging up Avenue Bourguiba,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40congregating outside the Ministry of the Interior
0:21:40 > 0:21:44where Azyz and Slim had been prisoners just the day before.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47CROWD CHANTS
0:21:56 > 0:21:59TRANSLATION: I never thought I'd see so many people there.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01It was my dream come true.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04People demonstrating, shouting "Get out" to the whole system,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08not just the president, the whole blood-sucking establishment,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12saying, "Go fuck yourselves. Go to hell, we're the masters now".
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Ben Ali's senior advisers could see the writing on the wall.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22On 14th January, they informed him
0:22:22 > 0:22:26that he was jeopardising the security and safety of the country.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32That night, Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42TRANSLATION: Imagine that you take hold of your wrist,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44that you tie a narrow piece of thread around it
0:22:44 > 0:22:47so that it stops the blood from circulating,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50leave it on for ten hours and then suddenly release it
0:22:50 > 0:22:54and feel the blood surging through your veins...
0:22:54 > 0:22:56it was like that.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04There was something magnificent, it was indescribable
0:23:04 > 0:23:08and at that moment, I felt like the freest man in the world.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21On 15th January, an interim government was announced
0:23:21 > 0:23:24pledging a transition to democracy
0:23:24 > 0:23:27and an investigation into human rights abuses.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Slim Amamou, the one-time dissident blogger
0:23:32 > 0:23:35was made Minister for Youth and Sport.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Ben Ali ruled over this country for 24 years,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41but it took just 28 days
0:23:41 > 0:23:45from the first protest in a small southern town
0:23:45 > 0:23:47to the fall of the regime.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Opposition activists across the Middle-East watched in amazement
0:23:51 > 0:23:54and with a growing sense of inspiration.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Could they do the same to their own equally hated dictators?
0:24:00 > 0:24:04The network of online dissidents spanned the entire Arab world,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07from Morocco in North Africa to Yemen in the Gulf.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10But it was in Egypt that an underground army of activists
0:24:10 > 0:24:14was waiting to pick up the baton of revolution.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26In Cairo, political activists
0:24:26 > 0:24:29watched the Tunisian revolution with awe.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36For us, we were ecstatic.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38We couldn't imagine that
0:24:38 > 0:24:42really they managed to get rid of their president
0:24:42 > 0:24:47and I think that this is a turning point to the whole Arab world.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51TRANSLATION: When Tunisia erupted, we were dazzled.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54It was as if the light had been switched on
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and as if Tunisia had opened possibilities for us
0:24:57 > 0:24:59which we didn't realise were there.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Like Ben Ali in Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak ensured his absolute rule
0:25:08 > 0:25:12by rigging elections and imprisoning opponents.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14He was seen by Western governments
0:25:14 > 0:25:17as pivotal to the stability of the region
0:25:17 > 0:25:20and an ally against Islamic fundamentalism.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25They wouldn't want to see him toppled, despite his crimes.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28And with the largest military machine in the Arab world,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Mubarak would be a harder nut to crack.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41For a number of years, surgeon Shadi Ghazali-Harb,
0:25:41 > 0:25:44journalist Nawara Negem and other activists
0:25:44 > 0:25:48had been studying the dynamics of political struggle online
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and writing blogs calling for revolutionary change in Egypt.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58Unlike in Tunisia, blogs in Egypt were rarely censored.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00But bloggers could still be imprisoned
0:26:00 > 0:26:04and even tortured for posting subversive material online.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09Although risky, by encrypting their messages and using pseudonyms,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11the activists still found the internet
0:26:11 > 0:26:13the safest way to communicate.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Egypt was a police state
0:26:19 > 0:26:22with a security apparatus to rival the Stasi.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27Under emergency laws, police had virtually unlimited powers
0:26:27 > 0:26:31to arrest and detain citizens without trial.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35While Mubarak hobnobbed with Western leaders,
0:26:35 > 0:26:40Amnesty International reported systematic torture of men, women and children,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42using electric shocks and beatings.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52In June 2010,
0:26:52 > 0:26:58six months before Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself in Tunisia,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Egypt had had her own martyr.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03Khaled Saeed, a young computer programmer,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06had been brutally beaten and murdered by police
0:27:06 > 0:27:09for exposing their corruption online.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13They tracked him and went and just...
0:27:14 > 0:27:17..got him out of an internet cafe
0:27:17 > 0:27:19when he was there.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21They just got him out
0:27:21 > 0:27:24and kept beating him up until he died.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28And secretly there were photographs taken of his body?
0:27:28 > 0:27:31There was a photograph taken by his brother
0:27:31 > 0:27:34when they took him to identify his body.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36He took it secretly,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39and it was a brutal photograph.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42It is really a very moving photograph
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and it spread throughout the whole world.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49A Facebook page set up to honour Khaled Saeed's memory
0:27:49 > 0:27:52would now become the rallying point for revolution.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Facebook had five million users in Egypt,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and news of his fate spread quickly.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04TRANSLATION: Many young people sympathise with Khaled Saeed
0:28:04 > 0:28:07and we always used to ask young people, how can you guarantee
0:28:07 > 0:28:11that what happened to Khaled Saeed isn't going to happen to you?
0:28:16 > 0:28:19Historically, the most vocal opposition to Mubarak had come
0:28:19 > 0:28:23from political Islamists. Many Muslim Brotherhood leaders
0:28:23 > 0:28:26had been arrested and imprisoned,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29but by focusing his energy on traditional enemies,
0:28:29 > 0:28:34Mubarak failed to see that a more potent political force was growing.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44TRANSLATION: The problem with the old school thinking
0:28:44 > 0:28:47of the Mubarak regime was that it thought that only factions
0:28:47 > 0:28:51that had a pyramid structure were dangerous.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57That's why it was confronting parties like the Muslim Brotherhood
0:28:57 > 0:29:03and other Islamic factions, because they were traditional organisations
0:29:03 > 0:29:05with a hierarchical structure.
0:29:07 > 0:29:12He thought that, because the internet had no structure and leadership,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15that it wasn't a threat.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18Emboldened by events in Tunisia,
0:29:18 > 0:29:22the activists now planned their own day of protest.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25We discussed it and reached the conclusion
0:29:25 > 0:29:27that we'd stop deceiving ourselves
0:29:27 > 0:29:29and each one of us decided independently
0:29:29 > 0:29:33that we'd go out on the streets even if we were killed.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37We all reached that decision at the same time.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Using their Facebook pages,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42the activists set the date for their protest -
0:29:42 > 0:29:47January 25th, a public holiday in honour of the police.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51What did you actually say to people?
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Did you tell them, "Join us and let's march on Tahrir Square"?
0:29:54 > 0:30:01Just six or seven of us decided the exact place one day before the demonstrations.
0:30:01 > 0:30:09During these two weeks we tried to distribute flyers
0:30:09 > 0:30:13and invite people to join as much as we can, on the Facebook,
0:30:13 > 0:30:19but not very publicly in the street because, I mean, it's dangerous here.
0:30:20 > 0:30:26But, unlike Tunisia, only 20% of Egyptians had access to the internet.
0:30:26 > 0:30:31The activists needed to reach out to the many Cairenes who were not online.
0:30:31 > 0:30:38They hatched a plan to send a viral message through the arteries of the city by taxi.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41Here in Cairo, taxi-drivers love to talk to people
0:30:41 > 0:30:44so we said to ourselves, how can we take advantage of that?
0:30:44 > 0:30:51Activist Waleed Rashed and his friends now drew Cairo's talkative taxi drivers into their plans.
0:30:51 > 0:30:58The idea was that, if we spoke directly face-to-face with a taxi driver,
0:30:58 > 0:31:02he might start arguing and debating with us and this wouldn't be very useful,
0:31:02 > 0:31:07but if I speak with someone from my movement using the phone in front of the taxi driver,
0:31:07 > 0:31:12he'll feel he's overheard a secret and that will create some intrigue.
0:31:12 > 0:31:18Then the taxi driver is bound to pass on what I've said to others about our plans for the 25th.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28Word spread through Cairo on buses, in cafes and in mosques
0:31:28 > 0:31:32that something big would happen in Tahrir Square on the 25th.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37One week before the planned protest,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40activist Asmaa Mahfouz took a brave decision.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46She decided to stop hiding her identity online.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51I felt maybe if people could see me,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56then I could communicate what I feel better face-to-face them in writing.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07And so the plea came straight from my heart and touched people directly.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10My words were completely spontaneous.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19Asmaa's courage in risking arrest and abuse from the security services
0:32:19 > 0:32:21rallied people to her support.
0:32:24 > 0:32:28People called me saying, "The security services won't arrest you.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31"If they do, we'll set fire to them. We'll protect you. Don't be scared.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35"We'll join you on the 25th."
0:32:35 > 0:32:39The activists knew the authorities were watching their every move,
0:32:39 > 0:32:41and that their online conversations were monitored.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45They decided to use this to their advantage.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49Whatever messages we sent, we know that they were going to the police.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53So our main tactic was to announce the decoy areas.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55The more areas that we announced,
0:32:55 > 0:32:59we thought the more distributed the riot police would be.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03- So you were trying to trick the police to be in the wrong places? - Yes, the wrong places,
0:33:03 > 0:33:05and not even the wrong places,
0:33:05 > 0:33:09but try to trick them away from the big crowds.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14We named many of the famous squares in Cairo.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18We wanted to send the police off in different directions.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28On the morning of the 25th,
0:33:28 > 0:33:33the organisers headed to Tahrir Square not knowing what they would find.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42CROWD CHANTS
0:33:48 > 0:33:52As soon as we arrived, we saw a huge number of people,
0:33:52 > 0:33:55and we'd all thought we had gone there alone.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00Word of mouth had brought Cairenes from all over the city onto the street.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05We were shocked when we saw the huge numbers of people with us.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07We were so happy, we were crying,
0:34:07 > 0:34:09because finally people had been inspired to join us.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25I mean, is this a fact or a dream?
0:34:25 > 0:34:3040,000 Egyptians right now in Tahrir Square. I can't believe that.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40All my friends from my movement were there, and other movements.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Young men and women. We were all crying. Success!
0:34:43 > 0:34:45Our dream is coming true.
0:34:49 > 0:34:54Although the Muslim Brotherhood had not officially supported the protest,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56many young people from the organisation
0:34:56 > 0:35:01were now throwing in their lot with the protesters.
0:35:01 > 0:35:07We didn't raise any Brotherhood banners or Brotherhood slogans
0:35:07 > 0:35:11that are usually raised in other Brotherhood protests
0:35:11 > 0:35:17because the uprising was meant to be an Egyptian uprising, not an Islamic uprising.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23It was a peaceful demonstration, but the regime was rattled.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Riot police were sent in to break up the crowds.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29But the protesters stood their ground.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Hosni Mubarak, get out! Get out!
0:35:41 > 0:35:46As darkness fell, the police escalated their assault on the crowd
0:35:46 > 0:35:48with water cannon and tear gas.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54There was terrible violence committed by the security forces
0:35:54 > 0:35:56on the 25th during the night.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59But the surprise was that people didn't go.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01People stayed with us all night.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04There were demonstrations in the streets and alleys,
0:36:04 > 0:36:08and the security forces were chasing us everywhere.
0:36:18 > 0:36:24It wasn't until dawn that the police finally succeeded in clearing the square.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27But with the Tunisian revolution fresh in their minds,
0:36:27 > 0:36:32politicians in and beyond Egypt waited nervously for the next move.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36The West relied on Mubarak to uphold peace with Israel,
0:36:36 > 0:36:39and for his co-operation in the war on terror.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Like his predecessors in the White House,
0:36:42 > 0:36:45Barack Obama had no wish to alienate him.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Obama's administration was one of the most supportive of the Mubarak regime,
0:36:50 > 0:36:52more than the Bush administration.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00Obama give strong support to many institutions linked to the government,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03and he spoke about Mubarak as a man of peace, a man of democracy.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07His stand on Mubarak made the people of Egypt angry.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16How the United States responded would be critical.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had been a champion of internet freedom,
0:37:20 > 0:37:24encouraging digital activism around the world.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26But now that US interests were at stake,
0:37:26 > 0:37:30she reverted to old-style realpolitik.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34Our assessment is that the Egyptian government is stable,
0:37:34 > 0:37:41and is looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs
0:37:41 > 0:37:44and interests of the Egyptian people.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48But in struggling to read the situation in Egypt,
0:37:48 > 0:37:50America had got it wrong.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54The nation that claimed to be the world's biggest supporter of democracy
0:37:54 > 0:37:58had instead focused on its own pragmatic interests,
0:37:58 > 0:38:02and failed the first big test of the Arab Spring.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08In Cairo, the young people who hungered for democracy
0:38:08 > 0:38:10reacted with dismay.
0:38:13 > 0:38:19Before the 25th, we felt Obama was the most important person in the world.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23But as soon as Hillary said, "This is a solid regime
0:38:23 > 0:38:27"and we have faith in it," we decided that America didn't exist.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29We felt contempt for Obama.
0:38:31 > 0:38:37The activists now planned a bigger, bolder act of defiance against their President.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40They would occupy Tahrir Square.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47But to do this, they would have to confront the riot police
0:38:47 > 0:38:49stationed throughout the city.
0:38:49 > 0:38:54Their plan was scheduled for Friday January 28th.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59The night before, the organisers met in a secret location.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05We had a big map of Cairo,
0:39:05 > 0:39:09and how we will attack the riot police
0:39:09 > 0:39:12and conquer Tahrir Square once more.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17And in that meeting, that very tense meeting,
0:39:17 > 0:39:21we felt that if we got caught, we would all be sentenced to death.
0:39:21 > 0:39:26The activists may not have had the support of democratic governments in the West,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29but they did have support from a global online network,
0:39:29 > 0:39:32including the revolutionaries in Tunisia.
0:39:34 > 0:39:39Advice from the Tunisians was, "Exhaust them, stay up all night,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43"run and then regroup, run and then regroup, and they'll get tired."
0:39:43 > 0:39:48They told us what was best to do, how to fight the tear gas,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52for example, using vinegar and lemon juice on the masks.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59But while the activists planned,
0:39:59 > 0:40:04the authorities prepared what they hoped would be a mortal blow.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08Over the last few days, the regime had watched how activists had used
0:40:08 > 0:40:11the internet and mobile phones to help them
0:40:11 > 0:40:14get tens of thousands of people onto the streets.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17The government's reaction was simple.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19It switched off the entire network,
0:40:19 > 0:40:23severing all online and mobile communications.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27British-based Vodafone was one of the four internet service providers
0:40:27 > 0:40:31which withdrew its service,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34stating that under Egyptian law, the authorities had the right
0:40:34 > 0:40:38to issue such an order, and that they were obliged to comply.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42On the morning of Friday January 28th,
0:40:42 > 0:40:46the day planned for the protest, Egyptians woke up to find
0:40:46 > 0:40:50they had been cut off from the rest of the world and from each other.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58But the activists already had their plan,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01and technology was no part of it.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07Their strategy now was to tap into the rage of Cairo's poor,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10who for years had borne the brunt of the corruption
0:41:10 > 0:41:13and violence of the regime.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16They headed to a poor suburb of Cairo, Imbaba.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Imbaba is a world away from the middle-class Cairo
0:41:23 > 0:41:26of bloggers and internet activists.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30This is a tough neighbourhood, where many people struggle to feed their families,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34and few would have much knowledge of Facebook or Twitter.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37But revolutions cannot be made on the internet alone.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40They need people, thousands of people,
0:41:40 > 0:41:41out on the streets in protest.
0:41:41 > 0:41:46Imbaba was the perfect recruiting ground.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50As soon as the activists arrived at Imbaba,
0:41:50 > 0:41:54it was clear that Mubarak's ploy to cut off the internet
0:41:54 > 0:41:58and mobile phone network had played into their hands.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03People no longer had any idea what was happening, so they said,
0:42:03 > 0:42:07"I don't have internet access, I don't have a phone,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10"I don't have any news, so I will go out and see what is happening."
0:42:10 > 0:42:15Millions went out, and this is what we wanted, that people should go out on the streets.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23We started gathering people, a thousand, two thousand, three thousand, from all around Imbaba.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26And they started chanting slogans about the regime.
0:42:51 > 0:42:56TRANSLATION: We left Imbaba with about 30 to 40,000 protesters.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01We came out of Imbaba with 100,000
0:43:01 > 0:43:03and when I saw the numbers on that day,
0:43:03 > 0:43:06I figured out that it would be done.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13TRANSLATION: From every neighbourhood in Cairo,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16everyone was marching in their tens of thousands to Tahrir Square.
0:43:20 > 0:43:21But to get to the square,
0:43:21 > 0:43:24the protesters would first have to cross the Nile
0:43:24 > 0:43:27and there was just one main route.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35They set off on foot and came here to Qasr al-Nil Bridge
0:43:35 > 0:43:38across the Nile, which leads to Tahrir Square.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Waiting for them on the other side, were the riot police
0:43:41 > 0:43:45with strict orders to stop the protest taking place.
0:43:46 > 0:43:52And in Mubarak's Egypt, that meant, if necessary, killing them.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56TRANSLATION: It was real.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00They had weapons and they were shooting.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03It was shoot to kill.
0:44:03 > 0:44:04They were shooting like this.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10It's a narrow bridge, not a very big one
0:44:10 > 0:44:14and it's difficult to cross the bridge
0:44:14 > 0:44:20with an army of riot police in front of you.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22It's very easy for them to hit you.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31TRANSLATION: The security forces finally sensed our power
0:44:31 > 0:44:35and we sensed our own power. It was either us or them.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47A lot of people died there and two of them died in front of my eyes.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51I tried to save them but even though I'm a doctor,
0:44:51 > 0:44:54there wasn't much to do.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56To see someone who dies in front of you
0:44:56 > 0:45:01and you feel you're responsible for getting him down
0:45:01 > 0:45:08and getting him into the street, then he dies and you don't die, you survive.
0:45:08 > 0:45:13You can't avoid a severe sense of guilt
0:45:13 > 0:45:16that you're responsible for the death of these people.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20After two hours of fighting on the bridge,
0:45:20 > 0:45:23the unarmed protesters broke through the police lines.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27They headed for Tahrir Square where the battle resumed.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30We're taking the regime! This is a corrupt regime.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32We're standing up to the regime.
0:45:34 > 0:45:40TRANSLATION: When we entered the square, it was indescribable.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42It was dark and there was smoke everywhere.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46People were falling all over the place and banging on metal.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50It was like those battles, those battles in ancient wars.
0:45:58 > 0:46:05At six o'clock that evening, unable to control the demonstrators, the police withdrew from the square.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08The crowds saw its chance and attacked the headquarters
0:46:08 > 0:46:13of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, a hated symbol of the regime.
0:46:13 > 0:46:20The army moved in a few hours later but by then, it was too late, the building was already in flames.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25By the end of the night, hundreds had been killed in Cairo and other cities.
0:46:25 > 0:46:31But the protesters now owned Tahrir Square, more than 200,000 of them.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44Once we entered the square, I knew that we can't leave, we will never leave.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48We will do whatever we can to remain in the square.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52It is the biggest symbol of our freedom.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58That night on Egyptian state television,
0:46:58 > 0:47:02an embattled Mubarak addressed the nation.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24Behind his tough rhetoric, his fear was manifest.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27He promised democratic reforms.
0:47:28 > 0:47:34Following the broadcast, President Obama called Mubarak on the telephone.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38I just spoke to him after his speech and I told him,
0:47:38 > 0:47:42he has a responsibility to give meaning to those words,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46to take concrete steps and actions that deliver on that promise.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52But on Tahrir Square, Mubarak's words were greeted with contempt.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55He should go. We don't like him.
0:47:58 > 0:48:04As the week wore on, it was clear that nothing could stop the Egyptian people
0:48:04 > 0:48:06in their determination to rid themselves of their President.
0:48:06 > 0:48:15The power of the internet generation was about to prove stronger than traditional state diplomacy.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19Old allegiances now began to crack.
0:48:19 > 0:48:25The United States quietly encouraged President Mubarak to step aside.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27The United States's message to him as a friend was,
0:48:27 > 0:48:30"Your people want someone else to lead this transition
0:48:30 > 0:48:32"and you really have no choice."
0:48:34 > 0:48:38But the 81-year-old Mubarak wasn't listening.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43He made grudging concessions, promising not to run for re-election and to amend the constitution.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50In a dramatic U-turn, he tried to use the new technology to his own advantage.
0:48:51 > 0:48:56The internet went back on and across the country, mobile-phone users
0:48:56 > 0:49:00received patriotic text messages like this one.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04"Youth of Egypt, beware of rumours and listen to the sound of reason.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08"Egypt is precious, so look after her."
0:49:08 > 0:49:11But the Egyptian people were unimpressed.
0:49:12 > 0:49:20It wasn't just Cairo - Alexandria, Suez and Port Said were now also in open revolt.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22Over 500 lay dead.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27The situation was now beyond the police.
0:49:32 > 0:49:38Only the mighty Egyptian army had the power to crush the revolt.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42All week, army tanks had been stationed on the square.
0:49:42 > 0:49:47But no-one was quite sure whose side they were on.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51TRANSLATION: People started saying, "Where is the Egyptian army?
0:49:51 > 0:49:55"The police are shooting us, we want the army to protect us."
0:49:55 > 0:49:58I was scared. I said to them, "Imagine if the army started attacking us."
0:49:58 > 0:50:04But they said to me, "No, it's not possible, the army can't attack us, the army is with us."
0:50:08 > 0:50:15For decades, the army had been the most powerful institution in Egypt, widely respected by most Egyptians.
0:50:17 > 0:50:24It was also bankrolled by the American government to the tune of 1.3 billion per year.
0:50:27 > 0:50:33In our conversations with defence and military leaders in Egypt,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37they made clear, and we encouraged them in this thinking,
0:50:37 > 0:50:42that they were the strongest institution in Egyptian society
0:50:42 > 0:50:48and they told us that they would not turn their guns on their people.
0:50:48 > 0:50:49That was a decisive moment.
0:50:49 > 0:50:55Secure in the knowledge that the US relationship with the Egyptian army remained robust,
0:50:55 > 0:51:00on February 1st, Obama announced a new, hardline position.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03An orderly transition must be meaningful,
0:51:03 > 0:51:05it must be peaceful
0:51:05 > 0:51:09and it must begin now.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12Obama gave a speech, which was also transmitted -
0:51:12 > 0:51:18at that time we set up a projector and a big screen in Tahrir Square
0:51:18 > 0:51:25and we managed to see all the speeches live. It was very moving.
0:51:25 > 0:51:30We felt that Obama was feeling what we were doing, more than our own President.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34Mubarak now had his back against the wall.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39He was losing the support of his army AND his powerful American ally.
0:51:39 > 0:51:45In the heart of his capital, his own people were clamouring for him to go.
0:51:46 > 0:51:52He was about to show just how ruthless he could be in his determination to cling to power.
0:51:56 > 0:52:01President Mubarak wasn't the kind of man to allow Egypt's anarchic youth to tell him what to do.
0:52:01 > 0:52:07He saw himself as the father of the nation, a man with a duty to serve.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11So, on February 2nd, day nine of the protest, Mubarak fought back.
0:52:11 > 0:52:17That afternoon, hundreds of armed men descended on Tahrir Square,
0:52:17 > 0:52:21described on state television as loyal supporters of the government.
0:52:23 > 0:52:28They were rumoured to be plain-clothes police and thugs in the pay of the regime.
0:52:29 > 0:52:34TRANSLATION: Mubarak's regime started spreading chaos and terror among the people
0:52:34 > 0:52:37so they would start to fear the revolution and say,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40"We want Mubarak and stability, we don't want vandalism."
0:52:40 > 0:52:47So vandals were released everywhere to steal, rob and terrorise the people in the streets.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57There were stones being thrown in every direction.
0:52:58 > 0:53:05Everyone in the square was hit. Then they went in with the camels.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11It became known as the Battle of the Camels...
0:53:19 > 0:53:23..but there were deadlier weapons in play.
0:53:23 > 0:53:31The worst thing is that it wasn't just the stones and the sticks,
0:53:31 > 0:53:34there were people, they were snipers over the buildings.
0:53:34 > 0:53:40Any lingering affection the protesters might have felt for their President
0:53:40 > 0:53:41died that day.
0:53:41 > 0:53:46TRANSLATION: Is he prepared to set Egypt on fire and destroy everything?
0:53:46 > 0:53:51He doesn't care if a civil war breaks out, as long as he stays in power?
0:53:51 > 0:53:58Why does he want to stay in power so much that he is ready to destroy everything in Egypt?
0:54:03 > 0:54:07During the battle, the army watched from the sidelines
0:54:07 > 0:54:10as the protesters fought back against Mubarak's henchmen.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21But that evening, a military officer, Major Ahmed Ali Shuman,
0:54:21 > 0:54:26told crowds in Tahrir Square that he had handed in his weapon and joined the protest.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35CHEERING
0:54:40 > 0:54:4315 other officers followed suit.
0:54:44 > 0:54:50TRANSLATION: The first time I felt safe was when I saw an army tank passing by, cheering people.
0:54:52 > 0:54:57The officer driving the tank started blowing kisses to the people.
0:54:59 > 0:55:07With the army now firmly on the side of the protesters, Mubarak had no further room to manoeuvre.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21TRANSLATION: News arrived that he was now getting ready to leave
0:55:21 > 0:55:24and looking for a dignified way to step down as President.
0:55:25 > 0:55:29Finally, on February 11th, the protesters on the square
0:55:29 > 0:55:33heard that the government was going to make an announcement.
0:55:35 > 0:55:41TRANSLATION: I lent my head like this towards the radio and I heard,
0:55:41 > 0:55:45he is abandoning his position as President of the Republic.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48I began to scream.
0:55:48 > 0:55:49I ran into the street.
0:55:49 > 0:55:54Everyone was on their phones, there was hysterical joy in the streets.
0:55:55 > 0:56:02Congratulations for all my people! Congratulations! Yes!
0:56:09 > 0:56:12I heard the noise,
0:56:12 > 0:56:15of course I started crying, I cannot believe it.
0:56:32 > 0:56:33Fireworks everywhere,
0:56:33 > 0:56:39and suddenly, the whole country was celebrating that Mubarak was gone.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45Proud to be Egyptian, proud to be Egyptian!
0:56:45 > 0:56:52- TRANSLATION:- I started to cry, I lay down on the street and looked up at the sky
0:56:52 > 0:56:55and I couldn't believe it, we all hugged each other.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57Finally it's happened, finally it's happened.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21With Mubarak and Ben Ali gone, the torch of revolution now passed
0:57:21 > 0:57:26to activists in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Syria.
0:57:26 > 0:57:31The rulers of those countries had learnt one simple lesson from Egypt and Tunisia.
0:57:31 > 0:57:37If you aren't tough enough and ruthless enough, then you CAN be toppled.
0:57:37 > 0:57:41The Arab revolutions were now to enter a far more violent phase.
0:57:47 > 0:57:53Peaceful demonstrations would now be met with bloody military crackdowns.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59As the uprising spread, the internet would become even more critical.
0:57:59 > 0:58:05In the months ahead, it would be the only link with the outside world
0:58:05 > 0:58:10for those still battling against the Arab world's most brutal tyrants.
0:58:42 > 0:58:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd