'Army must choose Egypt or Mubarak'

An Egyptian Army soldier is handing a flower by an anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162846.html

Anti-government Egyptian protesters have returned to the streets of the crisis-hit country, calling on the army to choose between Egypt and beleaguered President Hosni Mubarak.

Pouring into Cairo's Tahrir Square to start the seventh day of protests, the demonstrators on Monday renewed their call for the president's resignation after 30 years in power.

"The army has to choose between Egypt and Mubarak," read one banner in Tahrir Square.

Thousands of angry protesters vowed to camp out in central Cairo until they had toppled the regime.

Mubarak's fate now appeared to hang on the military as pressure mounted both from the country's streets and abroad for him to end his rule over the ancient country.

Anti-government protesters turned out on Sunday, despite the army's warning that it would shoot to kill anyone breaking the curfew imposed on major cities. The curfew has now been extended and is to be in place from 3 p.m. to 8 a.m. local time.

Embattled Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981, has reportedly visited a military operations center to meet with top army commanders and troops at their headquarters.

As the president is trying to calm the situation in the politically-uncertain country, protesters on Monday called for a general strike to press their demands for democracy.

The demonstrators are also planning a huge anti-government rally for Tuesday, which has been dubbed the 'protest of the millions.'

The France 24 television channel quoted a senior US official as saying that US President Barack Obama's national security aides believe "Mubarak's time had passed."

Mubarak, a former top officer in the Egyptian air force and an ally of the United States, has been the recipient of billions of dollars in US military aid.

Egypt's defense minister also discussed the situation with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates via telephone on Sunday.

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, praised the "professionalism" of Egypt's armed forces in countering protesters.

More than 150 people have so far been killed and thousands more injured since the massive protests broke out on January 25 following the Tunisian revolution that led to the ouster of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The Tunisian uprising sent shockwaves across Arab and North African nations, including Egypt, Yemen and Jordan.

Obama flip-flops on Egypt crisis

US President Barack Obama

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162852.html

The Obama administration has begun hardening its tone toward embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as protests continue to rage in the North African country for the seventh consecutive day.

The White House released a statement on Sunday, which said that US President Barack Obama has discussed Egypt's uprising in calls to the leaders of the UK, Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

On Saturday, the US president spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the White House said. Obama also spoke with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain on Sunday.

He also discussed the situation in Egypt with US Vice President Joe Biden and the national security team on Friday in the Oval Office during the presidential daily briefing.

In the course of those conversations, Obama urged "an orderly transition to a government that is responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people,'' the White House statement read.

For the past 30 years, Egypt has, not only been a crucial US partner in the Middle East, but a linchpin in Washington's strategy for a future Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

Political analysts believe Obama is performing a delicate balancing act, trying to avoid abandoning Mubarak, while supporting protesters who seek broader political rights and are demanding his ouster.

In an earlier statement, the White House said its focus remained on "calling for restraint, supporting universal rights and supporting concrete steps that advance political reform."

“When President Mubarak addressed the Egyptian people tonight, he pledged a better democracy and greater economic opportunity. I just spoke to him after his speech. And I told him he has a responsibility to give meaning to those words, to take concrete steps and actions that deliver on that promise," Obama said in a January 28 address on the situation.

His remarks came as Egyptian cities had been put under a curfew, which tens of thousands of demonstrators largely ignored.

Critics called the response timid because it lacked explicit demands -- stark evidence of the bind the White House finds itself in.

Washington gave Cairo $1.3 billion in military aid and $250 million in economic aid in the 2010 fiscal year.

“We will be reviewing our assistance posture based on events that take place in the coming days,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs warned on Friday.

However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected any aid review comment on Sunday, on the sixth day of the protests against Mubarak's regime.

“We always are looking and reviewing our aid, but right now we are trying to convey a message that is very clear -- that we want to ensure there is no violence and no provocation that results in violence,” Clinton said.

Egypt's revolution is understandably causing anxiety in Israel. The nightmare scenario of a collapse of the Mubarak regime and creation of an Islamic republic across the border has, for years, haunted Israel's leaders.

On Sunday, Israeli Premier Netanyahu spoke of "efforts to maintain stability and security in our region," succinctly summing up Israel's change-averse foreign policy.

Israel to West: Stop bashing Mubarak

Egyptians living in Madrid protested in front of their Embassy against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and in support of protesters in Egypt.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162838.html

Israel has called on Western powers to curb their criticism of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak amid the country's popular uprising, a report says.

Tel Aviv is seeking to convince its allies, that it is in the West's interest to maintain the stability of the Egyptian regime.

In a special cable sent by the Israeli Foreign Ministry to its embassies in the United States, Canada, China, Russia and several European countries, ambassadors were told to stress to their host countries the importance of maintaining Egypt's stability.

"The Americans and the Europeans are being pulled along by public opinion and aren't considering their genuine interests… Even if they are critical of Mubarak, they have to make their friends feel that they're not alone," a senior Israeli official told the Israeli daily, Ha'aretz.

The diplomatic measure came after US President Barack Obama called on Mubarak to take "concrete steps" toward democratic reforms and to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters.

However, at the same time, US Vice President Joe Biden expressed support for the embattled Egyptian president, exclaiming that it was not yet time for his resignation.

"Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things. And he's been very responsible ... relative to the geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle East peace efforts; the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalizing the relationship with Israel,” Biden said.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers are set to discuss the situation in Egypt at a special session in Belgium's capital, Brussels, on Monday. They are expected to issue a statement similar to that of Obama.

Analysts say the double-standard stance adopted by the West aims to keep the Egyptian establishment in power without Mubarak.

Israeli officials have so far kept a low profile on the events in Egypt, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even ordering cabinet members to avoid commenting publicly on the issue.

Netanyahu is expected to hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation in troubled Egypt.

Egypt is a key Western ally in the Middle East and the first Arab state to enter a peace accord with Israel.

The escalation of protests across Egypt has raised speculations that the uprising could end in the overthrow of the government of President Mubarak, who has preserved peace with Tel Aviv for 30 years.

Israel is extremely concerned that the regime change could endanger the peace treaty that was signed between the two sides in 1979.

So far, more than 150 people have been killed across Egypt in the demonstrations which started last Tuesday and have continued nonstop since that time.