Egypt Revolution Developments

[Yusuf]

CAIRO: Demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak dragged into a 12th day on Saturday with no sign of an end to a confrontation which has pitted the 82-year-old leader against thousands of anti-government protesters.

Vice President Omar Suleiman was due to meet a group of prominent figures on Saturday to examine a proposed solution under which he would assume the president's powers for an interim period, one of the group's members said.

But with some of the protesters insisting they wanted not just Mubarak but also his allies out, it was unclear that would be enough to end the crisis.

Mubarak said on Thursday Egypt faced chaos if he resigned now, though he has promised to step down in September.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians held mostly peaceful demonstrations across the country on Friday to demand an immediate end to Mubarak's 30-year rule.

And in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the hub of demonstrations, protesters occupying the usually busy intersection in the heart of the city said they were not giving up.

"Mubarak must go, Mubarak must go," someone shouted over a loudspeaker after brief burst of heavy gunfire echoed across the square shortly before 2 am (0000 GMT) on Saturday.

Apart from the gunfire -- which one protester attributed to the army firing in the air to keep away Mubarak loyalists who clashed with anti-government protesters earlier in the week -- the night passed quietly.

With the unrest crippling the economy in Arab world's most populous nation, some Egyptians are anxious to return to normal. Banks were due to reopen on Sunday, the start of the week in Egypt, and the stock market on Monday.

The United States has also been pressing the 82-year-old Mubarak to begin a transfer of power and pave the way for democracy in a country which has been dominated by the military since it toppled the monarchy in 1952.

But seeking to deflect criticism of interference in Egypt's affairs, President Barack Obama said on Friday: "The future of Egypt will be determined by its people."

No one, however, can see an easy compromise which would satisfy the protesters' demand for change, with Mubarak's military backers' desire to maintain their influence and find an honourable exit for the president.

Discussing the constitution

Ex-intelligence chief Suleiman was due to discuss with the group of prominent figures an article in the constitution covering Mubarak handing over power to his vice president, one of the group's members, Diaa Rashwan, told Reuters.

Mubarak would stay on in a symbolic position under the proposal being promoted by the group of Egyptians calling itself the "The Council of Wise Men", allowing him to serve out his tenure with some dignity.

Many protesters however say they want a complete break with the past, while Obama has also called for "meaningful" change.

And while some analysts say transferring powers to Suleiman could help defuse the crisis, others argue it needs a bigger step shift to pave the way for free and fair elections.

"The best way to support democracy is to support democracy; not to enable authoritarians to take over the political system and hope they'll negotiate their way out of power," Steven Cook at the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations said on its website.

On Friday, people in cities across Egypt demonstrated in what organisers billed a "Day of Departure".

Tahrir Square was crammed with people chanting "We're not leaving, You are leaving!", waving Egyptian flags and singing the national anthem, with a beefed-up military presence keeping pro-Mubarak activists out to prevent any bloodshed.

The mood was festive as secular and religious Egyptians, Muslims and Christians, professionals and poorer members of society, mingled with members of the mass Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood.

Turnout nationwide seemed short of the more than one million seen on Tuesday. Mubarak went on television that night to tell Egyptians he would leave office in September.

Despite mass street protests and concessions by government, Mubarak's fate now lies as much in deals struck among generals keen to retain influence and Western officials anxious not to see Egypt slide into chaos or be taken over by Islamists.

Egypt has been a US ally throughout Mubarak's rule and it is strategically vital to American interests because of its 1979 peace treaty with Israel and its control of the Suez Canal.

Mubarak had also presented himself as a bulwark against militant Islam.

The United Nations estimates 300 people have died in the unrest, inspired in part by protests in Tunisia which forced veteran strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee last month.


Read more: Mubarak hangs on after mass protests in Egypt - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-Egypt-/articleshow/7430685.cms#ixzz1D4MHTn3N

 

[Tshering22]

We should not stick our nose into matters we are not related to even in foreign policy. This is something very difficult for the incumbent government to understand since it needs grey matter to comprehend the golden rule. We already almost destroyed our ties with Nepal and Burma but fortunately the cultural close link with these countries and the last minute cold feet saved the ties. Now they are repeating the same mistake with Egypt.

India is known for not meddling in others' matters and be a silent spectator. How difficult is it to continue this way especially when the friendship is now uncertain (we never know what might happen) ?

 

[Yusuf]

We should not stick our nose into matters we are not related to even in foreign policy. This is something very difficult for the incumbent government to understand since it needs grey matter to comprehend the golden rule. We already almost destroyed our ties with Nepal and Burma but fortunately the cultural close link with these countries and the last minute cold feet saved the ties. Now they are repeating the same mistake with Egypt.

India is known for not meddling in others' matters and be a silent spectator. How difficult is it to continue this way especially when the friendship is now uncertain (we never know what might happen) ?

We have had good ties with Egypt and also have great respect among their population at large. One thing is for sure, the people will win. Once they do, they will question what India did when they needed them in their hour of need? Not much that india can do physically, but surely a statement like that is a moral support for those on the streets protesting. I dont think India has faltered here. Mubarak will go, today or after 6 months..the people will not let another dictator rule them.

 

[SHASH2K2]

Mubarak, top leadership quit Egypt's ruling party​

The leadership of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party resigned on Saturday, including Gamal Mubarak, the son of President Hosni Mubarak whose rule has been shaken by days of protests, state television said. Al Arabiya television said Mubarak had also resigned as head of the ruling party. This could not immediately be confirmed.
A party official could not confirm the Al Arabiya report but said that if Mubarak had resigned from the party it would not affect his position as president. "These are two different positions," the official said.

In its report, state television named the new secretary general as Hossam Badrawi, seen as a member of the liberal wing of the party.

"(The resignation) is very important politically because this party was exploiting the state for the interests of the party, and that has caused a lot of criticism," said analyst Diaa Rashwan, adding that it had fuelled anger over corruption.

Protesters who have rocked Egypt's political system have complained about corruption, poverty and political repression that left power in the hands of Mubarak and his allies.

"Practically, it is important because the people using violence were being mobilised by the party ... and now they have been stripped of this protection and they won't feel secure that they have a party behind them," Rashwan said.

The outgoing leaders include secretary general Safwat el Sherif, 77, who has been powerful in the Egyptian establishment since the 1960s and is a pillar of the old guard. Sherif is also speaker of the upper house of parliament.

Without a place in the leadership, Gamal Mubarak would no longer qualify as the party's presidential candidate under the existing constitution.

President Mubarak himself bears the title of NDP president and state television did not say that had changed.

The outgoing leadership make up the five man core committee in the party.

The other members are Zakaria Azmi, Mubarak's chief of staff, NDP spokesman Ali el-Din Hilal and steel magnate Ahmed Ezz, who had already resigned a few days after the outbreak of the popular uprising against Mubarak.

The party was one of the main targets of the uprising and its headquarters near Tahrir Square was gutted by fire during the protests.

Bilal Fathi, 22, a member of the protest movement, said: "These are not gains for the protesters. This is a trick by the regime. This is not fulfilling our demands. These are red herrings."

The protesters' main demand is that President Mubarak leave office

 

[Tshering22]

We have had good ties with Egypt and also have great respect among their population at large. One thing is for sure, the people will win. Once they do, they will question what India did when they needed them in their hour of need? Not much that india can do physically, but surely a statement like that is a moral support for those on the streets protesting. I dont think India has faltered here. Mubarak will go, today or after 6 months..the people will not let another dictator rule them.

Mubarak or no Mubarak is not our priority. Democracy-throwing is US job not ours. We can only sit and be the silent spectator assuring the Egyptians about how we want to see any government they choose and how we have nothing to do with their internal matters. Remember that coming out of the Mubarak regime, people right now are very edgy about outside interference, whether US, Russian, Chinese or us. An assurance that tells them that we are interested in keeping relations with Egypt and not the type of government that they don't want is fine enough. Not a word more. This will satisfy the Egyptians enough to see that we are not against them.

As for people not allowing another dictator to come in, it is only to be seen. Some parties would pretend to use democracy but end up seizing virtually all of Egyptian politics. Speaking to some Turks, I can say so since Turkey is politically divided between nationalist-Kemalists and Islamists and the current Islamist government AKP has gone to great lengths to silence opposition, have nationalist-non-Islamist generals of Turkish military resign and a lot of things that normally are not supposed to happen in running stable democracies.

 

[ejazr]

Speaking to some Turks, I can say so since Turkey is politically divided between nationalist-Kemalists and Islamists and the current Islamist government AKP has gone to great lengths to silence opposition, have nationalist-non-Islamist generals of Turkish military resign and a lot of things that normally are not supposed to happen in running stable democracies.

This is really a simplistic view on Turkish politics. The basic problem is defining who are Islamists? IS any party that shows even a modicum of sympathy to Islam to be considered Islamist? And ofcourse any disucssion on them masks the wide differences between them. Or is it only those who want to establish a political system based on religion and implement so called "Islamic laws" - in this case AKP is anything but Islamist.

The AKP in Turkey, adheres to a secular consitution and with the military watching its every move, it can't silence opposition. Simple freedoms that muslims in the US/India/UK have like wearing a headscarf to university or government offices were restored to the people and this was somehow given an alarmist tinge of being Islamist. A section of the army infact unconstitutionally and illegally tries to mount a coup against the popularly elected AKP govt. This is when the generals involved in the conspiracy were court-martialled and sentenced by the court. Something that should happen in any stable democarcy. And let me just add that the AKP was probably the only party that went above and beyond what any other past Turkish govt. had done so that they could enter EU.

But overall either in its name (Justice and Development Party) or in its party manifest and objectives, there is NO mention of chaning Tukey's secular character or constitution. Go through the party program of AKP here http://eng.akparti.org.tr/english/partyprogramme.html. The entire party programme mentions Islam only in two main areas, one about preserving and maintaining Turco-Islamic art and the other about working in the OIC of which Turkey was the genereal secretary at that time. So much for an "Islamist party"

The reality is one in power, you can't realise on just political slogans, if AKP does not keep the economy humming along and run an enlightened foriegn policy based on TURKEY's interests and not US interests, it will not last long. It has one two free and fair elections in Turkey, the third will be next year and this shows that AKP is taking part in a democratic process and not turning the state into a one party dictatorship.


As long as the same contnual democratic process can be replicated in Egypt, there is no reason for an Iran style setup coming up in Egypt. And as many commentators have said, Sunnis dont have a strong central clergyfigures like Ayatollas among shias. So the idea that a sunni majority state like Egypt can end up with Iranian style setup around a central religious figure is pretty remote.

 

[ejazr]

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/360-degree/india-us-israel-need-not-fear-coming-change-452

Chinmaya Gharekhan, a former special envoy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for West Asia, and the West Asia peace process, and a former permanent representative of India to the United Nations, believes that an outcome of the popular movement in Egypt will be more power to the people. To that extent, India's statement calling for a resolution acceptable to the Egyptian people should be welcomed, he said. In an interview with Ramesh Ramachandran, Mr Ghare-khan also said that a future dispensation in Cairo can be expected to be more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.

Excerpts:

Why do you think Egypt and what is happening there today should matter to India?
Egypt is the most populous Arab country. Its intellectuals, music and movies dominate the Arab world, so obviously if you want to have relations with the Arab world, Egypt is indispensable. It is important because of the energy factor and also because our economic relations with Egypt has increased of late. IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited) has a 800 million dollar project there. Egypt was and still is active in the Non Aligned Movement (NAM). India is a co-founder, with Egypt, of NAM. So we have many links with Egypt. And, now as we go ahead and look for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, Egypt again becomes very relevant there. So there are many reasons for us to be deeply interested in what is going on in Egypt.

What are the likely implications, if any, of the unrest for India?
We still have to wait for the denouement of what is going on in Egypt. One thing is clear that the end result will be more power to the people of Egypt, more participatory role for the Egyptian people in the governance of the country. Our bilateral relations will remain healthy and mutually beneficial, so I don't think we need to worry about the state of bilateral relationship with Egypt. However, at the same time, if we were to not show any interest in the developments going on in Egypt then it would be unfortunate. We were rather silent in the beginning and then we made some statements which did not really mean very much. But I think the statements made by external affairs minister SM Krishna on television remo-ved all doubt about where India stands. He made it very clear that India is with the people of Egypt and any solution must satisfy the aspirations of the people of Egypt. He even referred to the writing on the wall, so I think his statements have been very good.

How do you see the leader-less movement playing itself out in Egypt?
It seems it was very spontaneous. According to an article in the International Herald Tribune (IHT), apparently a 26-year-old woman (Asmaa Mahfouz) started it. While people had long been suppressed in Egypt, and it has been a pretty ruthless regime in terms of political freedoms, it seems that this woman almost risked her life and she put herself in front of the camera and she asked everyone to come out in the streets and protest. It was very risky for her to upload her own video on the internet because she could have been arrested and anything could have happened to her but she said she must do what she thinks she has to do. She shared the video on Facebook, which is read by hundreds of thousands, so others took courage, and that's how it started. But it had been boiling for a long time. There was a political movement called Kefaya (Arabic for enough) but since there is heavy censorship and movements are restricted it does not do well in elections. So the protests we are seeing today is a genuine popular movement.

How will a potential rise in influence of the Muslim Brotherhood affect Egypt and the region?
Certainly Israelis would worry about that and there I would agree with them that they have cause for concern if Muslim Brotherhood comes to power or at least forms part of any future government there. That's understandable because Hamas is an offshoot of Brotherhood. So I think any future dispensation in Cairo will be much more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than the Mubarak regime has been. Of course every Arab government has to support the Palestinian cause because people support the Palestinians much more than their governments, so to that extent I think the Israelis might be concerned, but then there is no peace process. There has been no peace process for some years between the Israelis and the Palestinians so we can't say that it will affect the peace process. There is no peace process to be affected. "Also, in the neighbouring countries in the Arab world they might get worried and I can understand that. This is a new force. Then, Muslim Brotherhood, which has been suppressed with an iron hand in the Mubarak regime, would have a more free hand in future. "What that has done immediately is of course to make all these other autocracies realise the dangers to them and so they are all now coming out with so-called reforms. So I think that's not a bad thing. The Muslim Brotherhood has declared repeatedly, we don't know how long they will keep to that word, but they say they are against violence and they believe in democracy.

How likely is it that a future government in Egypt will continue its policies with regard to Israel or the US?
I'm not an astrologer but any government in Cairo will respect the [1979] peace treaty with Israel. I totally disagree with Israelis when they say that the peace treaty might be [threatened.] Of course they felt comfortable with Mubarak; he did provide stability and continuity for a number of years but the treaty was signed by the then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Mubarak only carried on with it. The peace treaty is as much in Egypt's interest as it is in Israel's interest. It's because of the treaty that Egypt is getting two billion dollars from the Americans and the people of Egypt are not stupid or foolish. But yes, a future government will certainly be more supportive of the Palestinians.

How would you describe the US response to the unfolding situation in Egypt?
The Americans are the most important external factor. They started off very cautiously because they didn't know how long it will last but very soon they woke up to the realities on the ground and now they have taken a very forthright position.

How will the developments in Egypt affect the region in general and Israel-Iran relations in particular?
The Israelis have to thank themselves for Iran's increasing influence in the region. They pushed Hamas into Iran's embrace. If the Hamas movement, which won a majority in the 2006 elections, had not been ostracised by the Israelis, and under Israeli pressure by others, then Iran would have had no hold over Hamas. So I think Israelis should do some introspection themselves and see what is at the root of all this: it's the continued occupation of Palestine, plus their deliberately pushing Hamas into isolation and hence into the arms of Iran. They have to take responsibility for that.

 

[ejazr]

An alternative viewpoint on wether GoI should come out strongly on the side of pro-democracy activists. Gupta makes some strong points to back his thesis

No need to be on 'right' side of history

The unprecedented public protests in Egypt now into their second week have made a return to status quo ante virtually impossible. Mubarak will have to go. There is likely to be an army-supervised slow transition to increasingly pluralistic governance structures but establishment of a full-scale democracy could take some time.

Though a US ally of long standing will fall, a successor government is not necessarily going to be anti-US. The major short term strategic impact is going to be that Israel will become almost completely isolated in the region, the so-called peace process will be stalled and Iran will be the major geopolitical beneficiary.

Regimes in Arab countries have been watching the unfolding developments with considerable nervousness and some have initiated populist measures to address economic and employment concerns and made promises for political reform to avoid similar protests. Jordan perhaps is the most vulnerable and the Palestinian regime could come under increased pressure too.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has been outspoken in publicly expressing strong support for Mubarak and there has been considerable criticism of foreign interference from several Gulf countries. However, immediate spill over consequences in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are highly unlikely. Each Arab country has its own unique domestic politico-social situation rooted in its own traditions.

Though regimes of GCC countries are absolute monarchies, systemically they are simply a more formal and sophisticated contemporary version of the traditional relationship between the tribal chief and his people. There is no tradition of political or social activism. Oil riches have enabled the rulers to provide the people a life their forefathers could never have dreamt of. Also, a process of bringing in greater pluralism in governance, though very slow, has been underway for some time – perhaps this will be accelerated and deepened. The people of the GCC countries would be quite wary of provoking social disruption and economic uncertainty.

I believe the criticism of India's official response is not justified. In my view it has been appropriately calibrated, sober and mature. First, there was no guarantee that events would take the course they have. Second, our comments would not have the slightest impact on events one way or the other. Third, the perceptions within the official establishments in GCC countries of foreign money and other assistance including hyperactive one-sided media coverage in sustaining the protests have more than a grain of truth. Fourth, it is risky to make official statements to support opposition forces engaged in overthrowing regimes particularly in a complex and rapidly changing scenario. Fifth, I do not think that our comments will have any adverse affects on our relationship with a more pluralistic Egypt in the future.

But, much more to the point, stronger comments, without achieving anything, could convey messages extremely counterproductive to the GCC regimes. Of all countries and regions, the Gulf region is India's largest socio-economic partner in the world and is vital to our future internal and external security and economic growth and prosperity. In 2009, the UAE was our largest trading partner and also the number one destination of our exports with Saudi Arabia being the fourth largest partner. More than 6.2 million Indians live in the GCC countries. The Indian diaspora in the Gulf has been sending billions of dollars back to India for several decades. The Gulf region is the source of 80 % of our oil imports and this proportion is going to increase. There could be immense investment possibilities from GCC Sovereign Funds, which exceed $ 1,300 billion; they have suffered huge value erosion by being parked in Western countries. More than 50 % of all flights to and from India are between India and the six GCC countries.

The Gulf region is the heartland of Islam and the Islamic factor is going to loom larger in our strategic calculations as we move further into the 21st century. In fact, the time has come to take India's relationships with the GCC countries to a higher level beyond the manpower and hydrocarbon import dimensions to establish genuine multifaceted strategic partnerships. There are indications that the GCC countries themselves feel that the time has come to invite India to be substantively involved with them. There is no point in supposedly being on the "right" side of history if in the process national interest and national security are compromised.

Ranjit Gupta was India's ambassador to Yemen and Oman in the 1980s and later headed the West Asia & North Africa division at the Ministry of External Affairs

 

[sandeepdg]

Civilian president or force? Military stays torn


CAIRO: Ultimately, only the military can tell President Hosni Mubarak — one of its own — that it's time to step down.

Egypt's most powerful and most secretive institution has so far given no hint of whether it will abandon the 82-year-old former air force commander and accede to protesters' demand for his ouster after nearly three decades of autocratic rule. But it will likely do whatever it takes to preserve its status as the final source of power in the country and the economic perks it gets from the regime and from the considerable sector of civilian business ventures it has carved out for itself.

The army is clearly torn. If it asks Mubarak to spare the country more violence and step down, it would throw the door wide open to the possibility of the first civilian president, ending the hold it has had on power since a 1952 coup overthrew Egypt's monarchy. Every president since has come from the military. But dislodging protesters by force from Cairo's central Tahrir Square, epicenter of the demonstrations, would portray the military in the same light as the widely hated police, risking a popular backlash that could taint its carefully guarded reputation as protector of the people.

"The challenge is to convince the generals in and out of uniform that their interests are best served by a more inclusive and transparent political system once Mubarak leaves the stage," Haim Malka of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in a commentary. "Regardless of how events unfold, the military will aim to preserve its unique position. ... The question then is not so much when Mubarak steps down, but what kind of post-Mubarak political system the military brass seeks to shape."

If Mubarak does go, military will surely have a strong role in running the country during a potentially stormy democratic transition. It will be in a position to weigh in heavily as Egypt's factions negotiate over reforming the constitution to bring greater democracy.

In American recognition of the army's importance, US officials say talks are under way between the Obama administration and senior Egyptian officials on the possible immediate resignation of Mubarak and the formation of a military-backed caretaker government to prepare the country for elections this year. The officials said the creation of an interim government is just one of several possibilities under discussion.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...e-Military-stays-torn/articleshow/7435241.cms

 

[sandeepdg]

As I had suspected all along, the above article shows that the Egyptian military is nothing more than a milder version of the Pakistani military !

 

[ejazr]

Mubarak And India
Hosni wasn't fond of us, perceived slights the undoing

To call Hosni Mubarak a despot or tyrant is inaccurate. His dictatorship is more relaxed, more avuncular, and less brutal than, say, a Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gaddafi. For the past 30 years, Mubarak has been haunted by a single fear: assassination. Since he came to power via a spectacular public slaying of his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, Mubarak and his close advisors have ensured he is mostly invisible in his own country, except on television or in parliament.

When I visited Cairo just after Yasser Arafat's death, the taxi-driver wouldn't even take me to the heavily barricaded street in which the presidential palace is situated. I later learnt that Mubarak is almost never seen in public, especially after the close shave he had in Ethiopia in 1995. The Islamic Jehad group had taken responsibility for the failed attempt then. You could say he is a stranger in his own country.

Mubarak faced a tricky situation after Arafat's death. An elaborate funeral march, in which top Arab leaders would take part, with the coffin passing through the main street in Cairo, was scheduled to be led by the Egyptian president. He would have been a sitting target then for his numerous enemies, mostly Islamists. However, given Egypt's identification with the Palestinian cause, it was unthinkable for the march not to be led by Mubarak. A clever plan was hatched. A curtailed event did take place, but the President, after a brief exposure to the chanting crowds, was whisked away to safety in a helicopter.

Mubarak is not especially fond of India. Two perceived slights rankle with him. In the early '80s, Indira Gandhi hosted a banquet for non-aligned leaders in New York. Whether by accident or by design, Mubarak was denied a seat at the high table. When the BJP was in power, prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, on Brajesh Mishra's advice, refused to take a telephone call from Mubarak. Apparently, the president wanted to give some advice on Kashmir. Till today, when Indian delegations meet Mubarak in Cairo, he always reminds them of the discourtesy shown to him by the Indian government.

In 1995, India gave Hosni Mubarak the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for promoting international understanding. He accepted the award but refused to come to Delhi personally, as all previous winners had done, to receive it. India dug its heels in: if he didn't come, he would not get the award. Thirteen years later, in 2008, Mubarak made the trip to India to be honoured by Pratibha Patil.

Besides his antipathy for India, Mubarak's reluctance to come to the subcontinent has another reason: if he comes to India, he would have no option but to visit Pakistan. If he went there, he was sure he would be shot by jehadists angered by Egypt's close ties with Israel.

One thing is sure: Mubarak is not likely to visit India again.

 

[ejazr]

As I had suspected all along, the above article shows that the Egyptian military is nothing more than a milder version of the Pakistani military !

Well militaries in almost all thirdworld countries have played a king maker role becuase of being the most powerful institution in newly independant countries. The major differnece here is that while Pakistani army used Islamic extremist groups as a tool of Foreign Policy, the Egyptian military cracked down on them.

 

[sandeepdg]

Well militaries in almost all thirdworld countries have played a king maker role becuase of being the most powerful institution in newly independant countries. The major differnece here is that while Pakistani army used Islamic extremist groups as a tool of Foreign Policy, the Egyptian military cracked down on them.

Yeah, that's true for a third of the world's nations. I know the Egyptians took substantial action against the Muslim brotherhood, that's the reason I quoted them as a "milder version" of the Pak military. But as you know, too much power at the hands of a few can always be an explosive proposition. Who's to say that Egypt can't become a dictator ruled country ?

 

[The Messiah]

 

[Rage]

 

[prahladh]

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-google-muzzle-twitter-egypt.html

How Google removed the muzzle on Twitter in Egypt

(AP) -- Even before his first day on the job at Google, Ujjwal Singh was trying to figure out how to use his passion for the spoken word and the company's technological prowess to help Egyptians bypass government efforts to muzzle the massive protests there.

©2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

[The Messiah]

WikiLeaks: Israel's secret hotline to the man tipped to replace Mubarak

The new vice-president of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, is a long-standing favourite of Israel's who spoke daily to the Tel Aviv government via a secret "hotline" to Cairo, leaked documents disclose.

Mr Suleiman, who is widely tipped to take over from Hosni Mubarak as president, was named as Israel's preferred candidate for the job after discussions with American officials in 2008.

As a key figure working for Middle East peace, he once suggested that Israeli troops would be "welcome" to invade Egypt to stop weapons being smuggled to Hamas terrorists in neighbouring Gaza.

The details, which emerged in secret files obtained by WikiLeaks and passed to The Daily Telegraph, come after Mr Suleiman began talks with opposition groups on the future for Egypt's government.

On Saturday, Mr Suleiman won the backing of Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, to lead the "transition" to democracy after two weeks of demonstrations calling for President Mubarak to resign.

David Cameron, the Prime Minister, spoke to Mr Suleiman yesterday and urged him to take "bold and credible steps" to show the world that Egypt is embarking on an "irreversible, urgent and real" transition.

Leaked cables from American embassies in Cairo and Tel Aviv disclose the close co-operation between Mr Suleiman and the US and Israeli governments as well as diplomats' intense interest in likely successors to the ageing President Mubarak, 83.

The documents highlight the delicate position which the Egyptian government seeks to maintain in Middle East politics, as a leading Arab nation with a strong relationship with the US and Israel. By 2008, Mr Suleiman, who was head of the foreign intelligence service, had become Israel's main point of contact in the Egyptian government.

David Hacham, a senior adviser from the Israeli Ministry of Defence, told the American embassy in Tel Aviv that a delegation led by Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak had been impressed by Mr Suleiman, whose name is spelled "Soliman" in some cables.

But Mr Hacham was "shocked" by President Mubarak's "aged appearance and slurred speech".

The cable, from August 2008, said: "Hacham was full of praise for Soliman, however, and noted that a 'hot line' set up between the MOD and Egyptian General Intelligence Service is now in daily use.

"Hacham noted that the Israelis believe Soliman is likely to serve as at least an interim President if Mubarak dies or is incapacitated." The Tel Aviv diplomats added: "We defer to Embassy Cairo for analysis of Egyptian succession scenarios, but there is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of Omar Soliman."

Elsewhere the documents disclose that Mr Suleiman was stung by Israeli criticism of Egypt's inability to stop arms smugglers transporting weapons to Palestinian militants in Gaza. At one point he suggested that Israel send troops into the Egyptian border region of Philadelphi to "stop the smuggling".

"In their moments of greatest frustration, [Egyptian Defence Minister] Tantawi and Soliman each have claimed that the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] would be 'welcome' to re-invade Philadelphi, if the IDF thought that would stop the smuggling," the cable said.

The files suggest that Mr Suleiman wanted Hamas "isolated", and thought Gaza should "go hungry but not starve".

"We have a short time to reach peace," he told US diplomats. "We need to wake up in the morning with no news of terrorism, no explosions, and no news of more deaths."

Yesterday, Hosni Mubarak's control of Egypt's state media, a vital lynchpin of his 30-year presidency, started to slip as the country's largest-circulation newspaper declared its support for the uprising.

Hoping to sap the momentum from street protests demanding his overthrow, the president has instructed his deputy to launch potentially protracted negotiations with secular and Islamist opposition parties. The talks continued for a second day yesterday without yielding a significant breakthrough.

But Mr Mubarak was dealt a significant setback as the state-controlled Al-Ahram, Egypt's second oldest newspaper and one of the most famous publications in the Middle East, abandoned its long-standing slavish support for the regime.

In a front-page leading article, the newspaper hailed the "nobility" of the "revolution" and demanded the government embark on irreversible constitutional and legislative changes.

Bastard wanting another country to invade his country....talk about being a massive puppet

 

[Tshering22]

^^ If only this sort of a thing was possible in our neighbourhood. .

 

[nrj]

What's happening in Egypt?


It can't get simpler than this..!

 

[Oracle]

Egypt government warns of army action against protestors

Emboldened by workers' strike across Egypt [ Images ], thousands of pro-democracy protesters on Thursday carried out massive rallies against President Hosni Mubarak [ Images ] as they vowed to step up their 17-day revolt despite the government's warning that army could "intervene to control the country."

Egyptian labour unions went on a nationwide strike for the second consecutive day, giving a new dimension to the demonstrations in Cairo and other cities against the embattled President's 30-year autocratic regime. Lawyers, public transport workers and the artists' syndicate were among those who joined the strike, Al Jazeera reported.
Thousands of protesters, who have been staging sit-ins on the Tahrir Square, the hub of the anti-government demonstrations in the heart of Cairo, refused to bow to the military pressure to "go home" and took out rallies against 82-year-old Mubarak as their movement entered the 17th day.

Several hundred protesters had on Wednesday attempted to block the entrance to the Parliament building, blocks away from the Tahrir Square, but were stopped by heavily-armed soldiers. In a desperate attempt to end the revolt, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit warned that the army would intervene if the protests escalated.

"If chaos occurs, the armed forces will intervene to control the country, a step which would lead to a very dangerous situation," the official MENA news agency said quoting Abul Gheit as telling the Arabic-language Al-Arabiya channel. But protesters, undeterred by the warning, chanted slogans against Mubarak and Vice President Omar Suleiman.

"No to Suleiman. No to American agents. No to Israeli spies. Long live Egypt. Down with Hosni Mubarak," they said while taking out a march outside the Parliament building. Suleiman had warned that if the protesters do not enter negotiations, a "coup" could take place, causing greater chaos in the country. "If dialogue is not successful, the alternative is that a coup happens, which would mean uncalculated and hasty steps including lots of irrationalities," he had said.

At the Suez Canal, the crucial state-owned trade link between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, about 6,000 workers went on strike on Wednesday amid reports of industrial unrest from across the country.

Al-Jazeera reported that around 20,000 factory workers had stayed away from work across Egypt on Wednesday. Those on strike were saying that "they want better salaries, they want an end to the disparity in the pay and they want the 15 per cent increase in pay that was promised to them by the state," it said, adding that a section of them also sought Mubarak's ouster. Scrambling to find ways out of the crisis, the regime has set free 34 political prisoners, including members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, over the last three days.

Human Rights Watch said that the death toll in the uprising has mounted to 302, with the bulk of fatalities coming from Cairo, but Egypt's health ministry has denied these figures. The US has expressed its complete dissatisfaction over the steps taken by the Egyptian government to meet the demands of the pro-democracy protesters and warned that the anti-regime demonstrations are going to grow bigger unless Mubarak takes some concrete steps.

"It is clear that the Egyptian government is going to have to take some real concrete steps in order to meet the threshold that the people of Egypt that they represent require from their government," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. "I think unless, or until that progress takes hold, you're going to see the continued pictures that all of us are watching out of Cairo and of over cities throughout Egypt," Gibbs said.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Culture Minister Gaber Asfour, who was appointed just nine days ago, has resigned on health grounds. Asfour had been facing criticism from intellectuals for joining the Mubarak government.

Source