OFFICIALS at the Tanzanian Embassy in Cairo, Egypt are still monitoring the security situation there before advising the government at home on whether to evacuate its citizens or not.
Tanzania's Ambassador to Egypt, Mr Ali Shauri Haji, told 'Daily News' in a telephone interview from Cairo yesterday that the embassy had on its list some 150 Tanzanians either living or working there and so far they were all safe.
The Tanzanians, according to the Ambassador, include 90 students, 30 officials with the diplomatic mission as well as 30 others working and doing private businesses.
"As you have seen on major international television networks the situation is tense, a lot of people are demonstrating at Tahrir (Liberation) Square here.
"We had a meeting at the Tanzanian Embassy today to discuss the situation," he said.
Adding: "Today's (yesterday) demonstrations seem to be the biggest... we are still assessing the situation at present and we will advise our government accordingly."
The envoy also hinted of some Tanzanians who are stranded at airports in that country as Egypt's national carrier, Egypt Air suspended flights between Cairo and Dar es Salaam since Friday last week.
"We have tried to send some officials at the airport but we could not trace them the (Tanzanians) due to the large number of people there.
"After the suspension of Egypt Air flights to Dar es Salaam they can only wait to connect flights from either Europe or US," he explained.
The shutting of internet by authorities in Egypt has also a negative impact on the day to day running of trade and diplomatic missions there, including that of Tanzania, the envoy said.
"We can only access some few sites and at times we are forced to seek communication assistance from other neighbouring missions," he noted.
According to the envoy, tourism between the two countries is set to suffer a big blow as a result of the unrest.
"A lot of tourists connect to Tanzania from here but now with the unrest and suspension of flights the sector will suffer a lot," declared Ambassador Haji.
Meanwhile, reports from Cairo say at least one million Egyptians took to the streets yesterday in scenes never seen before in the Arab nation's modern history, roaring in unison for President Hosni Mubarak and his new government to quit.
The army's pledge yesterday not to use force against demonstrators emboldened Egyptians to push for the biggest shake-up of the political system since 1952 when army officers deposed King Farouk.
More than 200,000 Egyptians crowded into Tahrir Square in central Cairo and 20,000 marched in the eastern city of Suez.
Demonstrations were staged in Alexandria on the north coast, Ismailia and cities in the Nile Delta such as Tanta, Mansoura and Mehalla el-Kubra.
Across the country the numbers expressing their anger with President Mubarak and his ministers have hit the million mark that activists wanted.
"Mubarak wake up, today is the last day," they shouted in Alexandria.
The scenes in Tahrir Square, which has become a rallying point for protests over poverty, repression and corruption, were in sharp contrast to Friday when police beat, teargassed and sprayed water cannon on protesters.
"He goes, we are not going," chanted a crowd of men, women and children as a military helicopter hovered over the sea of people, many waving Egyptian flags and banners.
Opposition figurehead Mohamed ElBaradei said President Mubarak (82), must leave the country before the reformist opposition would start talks with the government on the future of the Arab world's most populous nation.
"There can be dialogue but it has to come after the demands of the people are met and the first of those is that President Mubarak leaves," he told Al Arabiya television; saying dialogue would cover transitional arrangements and dissolving parliament.
Effigies of President Mubarak hang from traffic lights and some protesters carried a mock coffin.
Mubarak's new vice-president, Omar Suleiman, appointed to show the government was willing to bring in reforms, offered to open a dialogue with the opposition.
But the measure, along with the dismissal of his cabinet and the promise of reform, appeared to be too little, too late.
US special envoy Frank Wisner, a former ambassador to Cairo, has been sent to Egypt to meet the leaders.
The United States and other Western allies watched at first in confusion as thousands demanded the downfall of a stalwart ally who has been a key figure in Middle East peace moves.
As the crisis grew, Washington called for reforms and free elections but it is also concerned that Islamists could gain a slice of power should Mubarak be forced out.
The military, which has run Egypt since it toppled King Farouk in 1952, will be the key player in deciding who replaces him.
Some analysts expect it to retain significant power while introducing enough reforms to defuse the protests.
Mr ElBaradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has offered to act as a transitional leader to prepare Egypt for democratic elections.
Many Egyptians, however, have said they had reservations about the Nobel peace laureate who has spent years outside the country.
Among the more organized in the opposition is the hitherto banned Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood. It stayed in the background early in the uprising but is now raising its profile, seeking to tie up with ElBaradei.
The Brotherhood said yesterday it was calling for protests until the whole establishment departed -- "including the president, his party, his ministers and his parliament".
At least 140 people have died since demonstrations began last Tuesday, most in clashes between protesters and the hated police forces. Violence also broke out in Suez, Alexandria and other cities.
Foreign governments have taken steps to evacuate nationals trapped by the unrest, including thousands of tourists. Companies also pulled out staff as the confrontation brought economic life to a halt.
The price of oil, the most sensitive indicator of market unease about Egypt, eased although Brent crude was still a few cents above $100 a barrel.
The Egyptian crisis has prompted bursts of risk aversion on financial markets over the past few days.
The main concern is the prospect of the unrest spreading to the autocratic oil-producing Gulf nations.
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