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Saturday, February 5, 2011

US official: Gamal Mubarak resigning positive step, Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:


WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The resignation of Gamal Mubarak, son of President Hosni Mubarak, from Egypt's ruling party on Saturday was a "positive step", an Obama administration official said.

"We view this as a positive step toward the political change that will be necessary, and look forward to additional steps," an administration official said. (Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

JUST IN BREAKING NEWS! As reported by Rueters, Posted by Meosha Eaton

MUBARAK MUST STAY IN POWER TO STEER CHANGES -- OBAMA'S EGYPT CRISIS ENVOY

Sudan's Bashir vows freedoms and open government, Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:


* Speech striking for conciliatory rhetoric
* Follows protests in Sudan and Egypt uprising


By Khalid Abdelaziz
KHARTOUM, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Sudan's president promised a future of freedom and open government on Saturday in a strikingly conciliatory speech following a week of small protests in Sudan and an uprising in neighbouring Egypt.

Omar Hassan al-Bashir's address to supporters on the outskirts of Khartoum was short on detail and made only a glancing reference to recent unrest but was notable for its disarming rhetoric.

"We open the door for freedom. We have nothing to fear from freedom ... Freedom is guaranteed by the constitution," Bashir told the crowd.

"Anybody who wants to make chaos, we will deal with him according to the law. Our doors and our hearts and our hands are open without fear."
Young Sudanese have mounted a series of short-lived demonstrations across the north in recent weeks complaining about price rises, and calling for political change and an end to human rights abuses.

Facebook pages and other social networking websites said the protests were inspired by the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. In each case witnesses said police, sometimes armed with batons and teargas, moved in quickly to end the protests.
Bashir's government is under additional economic and political pressure as it waits for the widely expected secession of the country's south, the source of most of its oil.
Southerners overwhelmingly voted to declare independence in a referendum in January, according to early results, in a vote promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war with the north.

Bashir, usually known for his more combative rhetoric, said he accepted almost all southerners had voted for separation.

He reminded the crowd that his National Congress Party (NCP) had also won the support of most northerners in last year's presidential and parliamentary elections.
"The NCP has a mandate but we open the door for everybody who wants to participate," Bashir told the crowd in an apparent reference to northern opposition parties, some of whom have recently called for protests.

Security officers arrested 10 journalists from Sudan's Communist Party newspaper after protests on Wednesday and detained opposition Islamist Hassan al-Turabi last month.
Sudan's government has so far declined to comment on the protests in Egypt.
Bashir said a separate north would continue to be governed by Islamic Sharia law because the vast majority of its citizens were Muslim.

Bashir, who campaigned for southerners to vote for unity, has surprised many commentators with his quick acceptance of the preliminary referendum results.
Washington has offered Khartoum incentives, including removing Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, if it delivers a free and peaceful referendum and resolves its separate Darfur conflict.

U.S. officials have also suggested they might be able to help in efforts to forgive Sudan's crushing debt and ease trade sanctions. Sudan is facing an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and a shortage of foreign exchange.

(Writing by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Maria Golovnina)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Egyptians rally for Mubarak to go now, Posted by Menelik Zeleke


Fri Feb 4, 2011
 




CAIRO (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians marched peacefully in Cairo on Friday to demand an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, but there was no sign of his generals, or his U.S. allies, squeezing him out just yet.

Turnout nationwide seemed short of the million seen on Tuesday and which leaders had hoped to match on what they called "Departure Day". Many Egyptians, weary of disorder, feel Mubarak did enough this week by pledging to step down in September. Some also were wary of renewed violence by shadowy Mubarak loyalists.

On the 11th day of unprecedented massive protests which have revolutionized Egypt and the wider Arab world, some 200,000 men and women from all walks of life streamed past patient soldiers to the capital's Tahrir, or Liberation, Square.

A similar number marched in the second city of Alexandria and smaller pro-democracy rallies were held elsewhere.

"Leave! Leave! Leave!" crowds chanted after Friday prayers on the square in Cairo. A cleric praised the "revolution of the young" and declared: "We want the head of the regime removed."

"Game over" said one banner, in English for the benefit of international television channels beaming out live coverage.

Yet for all the enthusiasm on the streets, and new-found tolerance by the army, Mubarak's fate, and that of a 60-year-old system of military-backed rule, lies as much in bargains struck behind the scenes among generals keen to retain influence and Western officials anxious not to see a key Arab ally against radical Muslims slide into chaos or be taken over by Islamists.

European Union leaders echoed calls from the United States for Mubarak to do more than promise not to run in September's election: "This transition process must start now," they said.

The 82-year-old president said on Thursday he was "fed up" but would not stand down because that would create chaos.

PROMINENT FIGURES

A handful of prominent figures from academia and business said they proposed a compromise under which newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman, a former intelligence chief who has the confidence of Washington, should take over real authority while Mubarak could serve out his fifth term as a figurehead leader.

There was a festive, weekend atmosphere as secular, middle-class professionals and pious, generally poorer, members of the mass Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, mingled, sang and chanted under banners and ubiquitous Egyptian flags.

Food and water, medical treatment for those overcome by heat and crowding, opinions and jokes were all shared.

Away from the square, groups of Mubarak loyalists harassed journalists. Some attacked the offices of Al Jazeera television. Others tried to deter people from demonstrating. But there was little of the extreme violence seen on Wednesday and Thursday.

Earlier, the veteran defense minister visited the square, inspecting troops who were out in force promising to protect demonstrators after the bloodshed of previous days.

Some demonstrators said they understood a need for patience, but would keep up the pressure: "He's bound to leave now, the only question is when," said Khaled al-Khamisi. "I think the army does not want to see him humiliated."

In a reminder of how events in Egypt are linked to a wider confrontation between Islamists and Western powers in the oil-rich Middle East, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed an "Islamic liberation movement" in Egypt.

Iran's anti-Western, Islamic revolution of 1979 against the repressive, U.S.-funded shah has been cited by some in Israel and the West as creating a possible precedent for Egypt to turn into a major hostile force to Western power in the region.

U.S. DISCUSSIONS

U.S. officials said they were discussing with Egyptians a number of options to begin a handover of power that would keep Egypt stable. Though President Barack Obama has called publicly only for an immediate start to "transition", one option, a U.S. official said, was for Mubarak to be replaced right away.

Mubarak and ministers in the government he appointed a week ago in response to the protests insist stability is better and have appealed over the heads of the marchers to a wider public.

"More than 95 percent of the Egyptian people would vote for the president to complete his presidential term ... and not (retire) now as America and some Western states want," new Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq was quoted as saying by state media.

Shafiq's team have taken pains to try to present a moderate face to the public, apologizing for violence by pro-Mubarak groups this week and pledging to provide order and democracy.

New Finance Minister Samir Radwan told Reuters the economic losses after 11 days of protest will be "huge". The tourist business, centered on pyramids and beaches, has been ravaged.

Radwan said the government had set up a fund worth $850 million to compensate people whose property had been damaged.

ISLAMIST ASSURANCES

The long-banned Muslim Brotherhood has sought to allay Western and Israeli concerns about its potential to take power in a free vote. A day after Vice President Suleiman broke ground by saying the Brotherhood was welcome to join a national dialogue, it said it would not seek the presidency.

Liberal figurehead Mohamed El Baradei, a retired U.N. diplomat, said he too did not seek the top job, but repeated he was willing to help in a transition if Mubarak resigned now.

But Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League and former Egyptian foreign minister, said he believed Mubarak would hold on until September's election. Though he added cautiously: "But there are extraordinary things happening, there's chaos and perhaps he will take another decision."

Moussa, spoken of by some as a possible successor to Mubarak, told France's Europe 1 radio that he would consider standing. He later joined protesters in Tahrir Square.
Any new government will face major challenges, not least the sheer diversity of long-suppressed political opinion, religious tensions and the high expectations aroused by the demonstrations of solutions to unemployment and other economic ills.
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 and which have since spread to other parts of the Middle East.

In Algeria, opposition groups said on Friday they would probably go ahead with protests planned for next week, despite concessions on political freedoms and measures to create jobs announced by the government on Thursday to address complaints.

Egyptians demand Mubarak quit on "Departure Day", Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:


* Hundreds of thousands demonstrate across Egypt
* U.S. officials, Egyptian generals key players in handover
* Vice president to meet prominent figures on Saturday
* Mubarak says his early resignation would bring chaos (Adds Obama quotes)

By Dina Zayed and Shaimaa Fayed
CAIRO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians marched peacefully in Cairo on Friday to demand an immediate end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, but there was no sign of the army or the president's U.S. allies forcing him out just yet.

Cairo's 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.

Friday prayers were held on the square in an 11th day of unprecedented mass rallies to try to topple 82-year-old Mubarak. One cleric praised the "revolution of the young" and declared: "We want the head of the regime removed."

"Game over" said one banner, in English for the benefit of international television channels beaming out live coverage. Effigies of Mubarak hanging by the neck dangled over the square.

Turnout nationwide seemed short of the more than one million seen on Tuesday and which leaders had hoped to match on what they called "Departure Day", a week after last Friday's "Day of Wrath" to voice rage over poverty, repression and corruption.
Some Egyptians, weary of disorder, feel Mubarak did enough this week by pledging to step down in September and were wary of more violence by Mubarak loyalists, but others were resolute he had to quit to usher in a new chapter of modern Egyptian history.

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 a key ally slide into chaos or be taken over by Islamists.
Egypt has been a U.S. ally throughout Mubarak's rule and it is strategically vital to American interests because of its peace treaty with Israel, its control of the Suez Canal and its opposition to militant Islam.

The role of the army, revered in Egypt compared to police and other security forces which are feared, is vital in determining the future of the Arab world's most populous nation.

European Union leaders echoed calls from the United States for Mubarak to do more than promise not to run in September's election: "This transition process must start now," they said.

But seeking to deflect criticism of interference in Egypt's affairs, President Barack Obama said: "The future of Egypt will be determined by its people." Egypt's president said on Thursday he was "fed up" but would not stand down as that would create chaos in Egypt.

"The key question he should be asking himself is: how do I leave a legacy behind in which Egypt is able to get through this transformative period?" said Obama, calling Mubarak a patriot.


SATURDAY MEETING
Egypt's vice president will meet a group of prominent figures on Saturday to examine a proposed solution to the country's crisis in which he would assume the president's powers for an interim period, one of the group said.

Diaa Rashwan told Reuters he and others had been invited to see Vice President Omar Suleiman, an ex-intelligence chief who has the confidence of Washington, to discuss an article of the constitution covering Mubarak handing powers to his deputy.

This solution could allow Mubarak to serve out his fifth term as a figurehead and end his tenure with some dignity.

With protesters breaking the curfew to spend another night in Tahrir (Liberation) Square, Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said: "We will not use force to disperse the protesters in Tahrir." The atmosphere there was described as quiet and subdued.

Earlier, there was a festive mood as secular, professionals and pious, poorer, members of the mass Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, mingled, sang and chanted in the square. Away from the square, groups of Mubarak loyalists harassed journalists. Others tried to deter people from demonstrating. But there was little of the extreme violence seen on Wednesday and Thursday when shots were fired and clubs and iron bars used.

Qatar-based satellite channel Al Jazeera said its office in Cairo had been burned and destroyed by "gangs of thugs". The office of Ikhwan Online, the Muslim Brotherhood's website, was attacked and closed down in Cairo.

Earlier, the veteran defence minister visited the square, inspecting troops who were out in force after the bloodshed of previous days and prompting the crowd to chant that the army and the people were as one. Some demonstrators said they understood a need for patience, but would keep up the pressure: "He's bound to leave now, the only question is when," said Khaled al-Khamisi. "I think the army does not want to see him humiliated."

There were also demonstrations in Suez, Ismailia and Port Said, all east of Cairo, as well as Nile Delta cities to the north such Mansoura, Damanhour and Qalyoubia. More demonstrators protested in Aswan in the south.

In a reminder of how events in Egypt are linked to a wider confrontation between Islamists and Western powers in the oil-rich Middle East, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed an "Islamic liberation movement" in Egypt.

Iran's anti-Western, Islamic revolution of 1979 against the repressive, U.S.-funded shah has been cited by some in Israel and the West as creating a possible precedent for Egypt to turn into a major hostile force to Western power in the region.


OPTIONS ON TABLE
U.S. officials said they were discussing with Egyptians options to start a handover of power to keep Egypt stable. Though Obama has called publicly only for an immediate start to "transition", one option, a U.S. official said, was for Mubarak to be replaced immediately.

Mubarak and ministers in the government he appointed a week ago in response to the protests insist stability is better and have appealed over the heads of the marchers to a wider public.

"More than 95 percent of the Egyptian people would vote for the president to complete his presidential term ... and not (retire) now as America and some Western states want," Shafiq was quoted as saying by state media.

Shafiq's team has taken pains to try to present a moderate face to the public, apologising for violence by pro-Mubarak groups this week and pledging to provide order and democracy.

The long-banned Muslim Brotherhood has sought to allay Western and Israeli concerns about its potential to take power in a free vote.

A day after Suleiman broke ground by saying the Brotherhood was welcome to join a national dialogue, it said it would not seek the presidency. Such a dialogue would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago.

Scenting victory, the loose-knit opposition, which includes liberal figurehead Mohamed ElBaradei as well as the Brotherhood, has rejected talks until Mubarak resigns.
Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League and former Egyptian foreign minister, said he believed Mubarak would hold on until September's election.

"But there are extraordinary things happening, there's chaos and perhaps he will take another decision," he added.

Moussa, a possible successor to Mubarak, said he would consider standing. He later joined protesters in Tahrir Square.

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 and which have since spread to other parts of the Middle East.


(Reporting by Edmund Blair, Samia Nakhoul, Patrick Werr, Dina Zayed, Marwa Awad, Shaimaa Fayed, Alexander Dziadosz, Yasmine Saleh, Sherine El Madany, Yannis Behrakis, Jonathan Wright, Andrew Hammond, Tom Perry and Alison Williams in Cairo, Myra MacDonald and Alastair Macdonald; Writing by Peter Millership; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Tunisians protest after two men die in police cells, Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:

TUNIS, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Two people being held in a police station in a Tunisian provincial town died after the building caught fire, prompting a protest by local people, local witnesses and official media reported.

The incident happened in Sidi Bouzid, the town that was the starting point for a wave of unrest that forced President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country and inspired anti-government protests around the Arab world.

"After a fire broke out at a police station in Sidi Bouzid on Friday afternoon, two young men arrested for charges related to drunkenness were burned to death," Tunisia's official TAP news agency reported.

"An investigation is currently underway to determine the circumstances of this incident," it said.

Local witnesses told Reuters a crowd of several hundred young people, angry about the deaths of the two prisoners, staged a demonstration in front of the police station.
A young unemployed man from Sidi Bouzid, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in December in protest at his treatment by local officials. He later died. His act started a wave of unprecedented protests across the country.

Ben Ali, in power for 23 years, fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14 after several weeks of the protests -- over poverty, corruption and political repression -- that also saw violent clashes with police and dozens of people killed.

Public confidence in the police has been at a low since the protests, with many Tunisians blaming police officers for killing protesters and associating them with the ousted president.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Jon Hemming

Police beat Sudanese at short-lived protest - witnesses, Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:

* Protests over food prices, liberties, inspired by Egypt
* Police quick to crack down on small demonstrations
(Edits)

KHARTOUM, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Police beat and teargassed students protesting in Sudan's Sennar state, the latest in a series of short-lived demonstrations partly inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, witnesses said.

Around 200 students, protesting against price rises and calling for change, tried to rally outside Sennar university on Thursday afternoon, before officers moved in with batons and then surrounded the compound, witnesses told Reuters.

Sudan has used armed riot police to disperse a series of demonstrations by young Sudanese across the north of the country in recent weeks.

Protests earlier last month focused on food prices and human rights abuses and broadened to include calls for political change after images of massed protests in Cairo, Tunis and other cities were broadcast across the world.

The protests, many around universities, have so far not been supported by wider parts of the population and have failed to gain momentum.

Also on Thursday police arrested dozens of people near the scene of a planned protest in the capital's Khartoum North suburb, said witnesses. The demonstration, which had been publicised on the internet, did not take place.

Police set up road blocks in and around Khartoum to search cars and lorries overnight. A Reuters witness saw officers even checking inside bags of vegetables in one vehicle on the road from Khartoum to the town of Kosti.

As part of a wider crackdown on opposition voices, officers arresting 10 journalists from Sudan's Communist Party newspaper on Wednesday and detained opposition Islamist Hassan al-Turabi and 12 of his party officials last month.

A police spokesman said there was no official comment on the reports on Friday, the start of the weekend in Sudan.

Sudan is facing an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation. It is also vulnerable politically after the south of the country -- the source of most of its oil -- voted overwhelmingly to secede last month.

(Writing by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Maria Golovnina)