Mubarak defiant as pressure grows
Key opposition figure Mohammad Elbaradei given mandate to negotiate the creation of a national unity government.
CAIRO:
As strident calls for a national unity government went up in Egypt, the United States urged an orderly transition to democracy and fair and free elections in the Arab country to avoid creating a power vacuum.
Key opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei, mandated by Egyptian opposition groups including the banned Muslim Brotherhood to negotiate with the regime, called upon President Hosni Mubarak to leave office and make way for a national unity government.
ElBaradei claimed he had a popular and political mandate to negotiate the creation of such a government. “I hope that I should be in touch soon with the army and we need to work together. The army is part of Egypt.”
Appearing on a slew of news programmes, US Secretary of State Clinton pressed Mubarak to ensure that the coming elections are free and fair and to live up to his promises of reform but insisted Egypt must avoid a result like that of Iran, which she called a “faux democracy.”
While Clinton repeatedly dodged questions about whether Mubarak should resign due to the political upheaval threatening his long autocratic rule, her call for democratic transition marked the furthest the Obama administration has gone so far in distancing itself from him.
“America’s message has been consistent. We want to see free and fair elections and we expect that will be one of the outcomes of what is going on right now,” Clinton said during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
ElBaradei hailed the start of a new era “in which every Egyptian lives in freedom and dignity.” “We are on the right path, our strength is in our numbers,” ElBaradei said in his first address to the protest epicentre on Cairo’s Tahrir Square. “I ask you to be patient, change is coming.” “We will sacrifice our soul and our blood for the nation,” the angry crowd shouted. “The people want to topple the president.”
But despite the anticipation of change, Mubarak ordered police who had largely disappeared over the past two days after running street battles with protesters back onto the streets and extended a curfew in key cities. The curfew in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez has been extended from 3:00 pm to 8:00 am, state television reported. Outgoing interior minister Habib al-Adly ordered the measure after at least 125 people were killed in six days of violent protests.
Air force fighter planes buzzed low over Cairo on Sunday, helicopters hovered above and extra troop trucks appeared in a central square where protesters were demanding an end to Mubarak’s rule. It was the latest show of military might in an apparent effort to send protesters back to their homes before a curfew.
However, the curfew has so far been largely ignored, with protesters and looters both present on the streets after dark.
Mubarak has struggled to placate a nation angry at his three decades of autocratic rule. Parliament speaker Fathi Surur made another concession, saying the results of last year’s fraud-tainted parliamentary elections would be revised.
State television said the embattled president visited central military command where he met his newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, the military intelligence chief. He also met outgoing defence minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi and chief of staff Sami Anan. Mubarak, a former air force chief, appeared to be bolstering his army support.
Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League, said in an interview that he wanted to see a multi-party democracy emerge in Egypt but could not say how soon that might happen. Asked if he thought Mubarak might quit, Moussa said: “I don’t think he is that type,” but he added that he thought Mubarak was listening carefully to calls for reform. Moussa did not rule out playing a role if Egypt did move towards a multi-party system.
The government moved to shut down Al Jazeera’s coverage of mass protests against Mubarak’s regime, but the pan-Arab broadcaster vowed that it would not be silenced. Outgoing information minister Anas al-Fikki has “ordered the closure of all activities by Al Jazeera in the Arab republic of Egypt and the annulment of its licences,” Egypt’s official Mena news agency reported. The press cards of all Al Jazeera staff in Egypt were also being withdrawn, it added.
Foreign governments meanwhile began evacuating their nationals from Egypt Sunday amid a wave of jail breaks, killings and increasing lawlessness, as a bitter anti-government revolt raged into a sixth day.
Tourists, expatriates and anxious Egyptians crowded Cairo’s airport seeking airline seats out of the country while the United States, Iraq and India said they were organising special flights for their nationals.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2011.
As strident calls for a national unity government went up in Egypt, the United States urged an orderly transition to democracy and fair and free elections in the Arab country to avoid creating a power vacuum.
Key opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei, mandated by Egyptian opposition groups including the banned Muslim Brotherhood to negotiate with the regime, called upon President Hosni Mubarak to leave office and make way for a national unity government.
ElBaradei claimed he had a popular and political mandate to negotiate the creation of such a government. “I hope that I should be in touch soon with the army and we need to work together. The army is part of Egypt.”
Appearing on a slew of news programmes, US Secretary of State Clinton pressed Mubarak to ensure that the coming elections are free and fair and to live up to his promises of reform but insisted Egypt must avoid a result like that of Iran, which she called a “faux democracy.”
While Clinton repeatedly dodged questions about whether Mubarak should resign due to the political upheaval threatening his long autocratic rule, her call for democratic transition marked the furthest the Obama administration has gone so far in distancing itself from him.
“America’s message has been consistent. We want to see free and fair elections and we expect that will be one of the outcomes of what is going on right now,” Clinton said during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
ElBaradei hailed the start of a new era “in which every Egyptian lives in freedom and dignity.” “We are on the right path, our strength is in our numbers,” ElBaradei said in his first address to the protest epicentre on Cairo’s Tahrir Square. “I ask you to be patient, change is coming.” “We will sacrifice our soul and our blood for the nation,” the angry crowd shouted. “The people want to topple the president.”
But despite the anticipation of change, Mubarak ordered police who had largely disappeared over the past two days after running street battles with protesters back onto the streets and extended a curfew in key cities. The curfew in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez has been extended from 3:00 pm to 8:00 am, state television reported. Outgoing interior minister Habib al-Adly ordered the measure after at least 125 people were killed in six days of violent protests.
Air force fighter planes buzzed low over Cairo on Sunday, helicopters hovered above and extra troop trucks appeared in a central square where protesters were demanding an end to Mubarak’s rule. It was the latest show of military might in an apparent effort to send protesters back to their homes before a curfew.
However, the curfew has so far been largely ignored, with protesters and looters both present on the streets after dark.
Mubarak has struggled to placate a nation angry at his three decades of autocratic rule. Parliament speaker Fathi Surur made another concession, saying the results of last year’s fraud-tainted parliamentary elections would be revised.
State television said the embattled president visited central military command where he met his newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, the military intelligence chief. He also met outgoing defence minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi and chief of staff Sami Anan. Mubarak, a former air force chief, appeared to be bolstering his army support.
Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League, said in an interview that he wanted to see a multi-party democracy emerge in Egypt but could not say how soon that might happen. Asked if he thought Mubarak might quit, Moussa said: “I don’t think he is that type,” but he added that he thought Mubarak was listening carefully to calls for reform. Moussa did not rule out playing a role if Egypt did move towards a multi-party system.
The government moved to shut down Al Jazeera’s coverage of mass protests against Mubarak’s regime, but the pan-Arab broadcaster vowed that it would not be silenced. Outgoing information minister Anas al-Fikki has “ordered the closure of all activities by Al Jazeera in the Arab republic of Egypt and the annulment of its licences,” Egypt’s official Mena news agency reported. The press cards of all Al Jazeera staff in Egypt were also being withdrawn, it added.
Foreign governments meanwhile began evacuating their nationals from Egypt Sunday amid a wave of jail breaks, killings and increasing lawlessness, as a bitter anti-government revolt raged into a sixth day.
Tourists, expatriates and anxious Egyptians crowded Cairo’s airport seeking airline seats out of the country while the United States, Iraq and India said they were organising special flights for their nationals.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2011.