'Egypt unrest signals hope of freedom'

A protester leads a chant during an anti-government rally in Tahrir Square on the morning of January 31, 2011 in central Cairo, Egypt.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/163010.html

Almost a week into the Egyptian uprising, speculation is rife that the protest will have a domino effect on other Arab countries in the region.

Director of the Institute for (Persian) Gulf Affairs (IGA) Ali al-Ahmed shared his thoughts on the issue in an interview with Press TV. The following is a rush transcript of the interview.

Press TV: As I am talking to you, there are people in Tahrir square who have braved the curfew that has been in place during the past couple of days. What is your reading of the situation right now?

al-Ahmed: The situation is increasing. It has been almost a week since it started. However, the [extent] of the protest has increased. Tomorrow we have the possibility of having millions of people on the streets of Egypt and across Egypt.

The protest is not only contained in Cairo or the media in Cairo, but also in Alexandria, Suez and even the city where Mubarak was born, Minufiya. High officials from the government are from Minufiya. So this protest is spreading across the country and taking hold. It could be a matter of days before this is all over.

Press TV: Of course, you are talking about the protest tomorrow. It is called the “one million man” protest; what would you say the difference in tomorrow's protest would be with the ones that we witnessed during the past couple of days?

al-Ahmed: I think tomorrow will be a decisive day because it is going to be a few days before Friday and we might even not have to wait until Friday. Tomorrow the protest is not going to be only in Tahrir square, but in other parts of Cairo. You will see people taking a much more pro-active role than just sitting and shouting in the city.

Press TV: We talked about the same issue ten days ago. If Mubarak was willing to sort of give in to the demands of protesters, maybe none of the things we are discussing today would be on the agenda. How would you comment on that? Isn't it a bit too late to appoint Omar Suleiman coming in front of the TV cameras and promising change?

al-Ahmed: Of course it's too late. Mubarak has been in power for thirty years. He is not a [young] man. He is almost ninety years old. So for them to take these steps [is] basically insulting the intelligence of the Egyptian people and thinking that he can fool them again.

They say you can fool some people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time, and Mubarak is so crazy that he thinks he can still continue to lie and deceive the Egyptian people. He is not in his right mind. And for the United States to support the man, who basically has one foot in the grave and one foot outside it, it's also very irresponsible and not understandable for them to do that. So you have circumstances that are amazing because the man is basically not alive. He is ninety years old and I don't know how long he wants to stay in power.

Press TV: Just going back a little bit further, say one month ago, I wouldn't personally think that a man setting himself on fire in Tunisia would send signals this far and wide to travel to as far as Egypt. Not only in his country that led to the ouster of the long-time leader of that country, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, but to travel to Egypt, a country of eighty million, much more strategically important than Tunisia is, and to bring the state of chaos that we witness today in Egypt. How far do you think this signal can -- and will -- travel?

al-Ahmed: There is an Arab proverb that goes, “God puts His secret in the weakest of his creation.” Muhammad Bu Azizi is the angel of freedom that sacrificed himself to send this wave of freedom across the Arab countries and we think that if in a few days Mubarak collapses, and his regime is toppled, you will see this wave of freedom cutting across like an earthquake -- or an atomic bomb -- that shatters the ground beneath to topple other dictators in Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain and even Saudi Arabia. Across the region you will see that effect take place, the “Bu Azizi bomb”.