The Middle East’s “Black Swan”
Jan 28, 2011 21:31 EST
By David Keyes, who is the director of CyberDissidents.org. The opinions expressed are his own.
Who would have believed that the immolation of a single fruit vendor would spark nation-wide protests and lead to the precipitous downfall of the Tunisian dictator who ruled for 23 years? Who could have imagined that these protests would spread almost immediately to Yemen, Jordan and Egypt? This has been the ultimate Black Swan, a term made famous by economist Nassim Taleb, meaning a cataclysmic event that was entirely unpredicted.
The past two weeks in the Arab world are unprecedented in recent history. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets protesting corruption and dictatorship. When Ben Ali was forced from power, Arabs throughout the region looked at each other and said collectively “Why not our dictator too?”
For three decades, Egyptians have been subjected to repression and marginalization. The country is dysfunctional, impoverished and highly illiterate. Fear permeates daily life. While staying in an Islamist slum in Cairo in 2006, I began to talk politics with an Egyptian friend. He immediately silenced me saying “il hitan liha withan” — “the walls have ears.”
Moments ago, President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak spoke publicly for the first time since the protests and said he would replace the government. He tried to appear as an ally of the Egyptian people claiming he understood their suffering. Few Egyptians will be convinced, and certainly not bloggers like Kareem Amer who spent the last four years in prison for criticizing Mubarak.
In 2009, Mubarak visited the White House and President Obama called him a “friend of the United States” who was working to “advance the interest of peace and prosperity around the world.” Kareem Amer asked me how peace and prosperity were advanced by his four year imprisonment. This echoes the sentiment of so many Egyptian dissidents who see a wide gap between Washington’s rhetoric and action. Just days ago, for example, Vice President Joseph Biden said he would not call Mubarak a “dictator.” Ordinary Egyptians who have been ruled by a single man with no vice president for three decades know better.
The Egyptian regime has long said that it alone can prevent the rise of radical Islamists to power. But Kareem Amer sees a direct link between lack of human rights and the empowerment of extremists. “The primary driver of [Egypt’s] radicalism, and what most increases their numbers, is the absence of freedom — social freedom, political freedom, freedom of speech” he said.
Precisely one year ago, I asked one of Egypt’s leading bloggers if crackdowns on Internet activists made them more afraid. She replied”No! The opposite always happens. When someone deprives you of something, you want it more.” Kareem Amer’s imprisonment actually “increased the number of bloggers not decreased it! The more activists jailed, the more new activists appear.”
In November 2010, Egypt’s finance minister boasted that in addition to press freedom, “There is also Internet freedom; Google searches are unfettered.” Today, Mubarak has completely shut down the Internet. This can only mean that the regime is fearful and deeply insecure.
After three decades of a repressive and corrupt dictatorship, the Egyptian people have simply had enough.
Senin, 31 Januari 2011
Sabtu, 29 Januari 2011
GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY, mubarak
Rakyat Hanya Ingin Mubarak Hengkang
Selasa, 01 Februari 2011 , 13:35:00 WIB
Laporan: Dessie Amelia
RMOL. Presiden Mesir menunjuk kabinet baru dalam upaya untuk mengatasi protes dari rakyatnya yang berkelanjutan terhadap pemerintahannya.
Mahmoud Wagdi, seorang jenderal pensiunan polisi, ditunjuk sebagai Menteri Dalam Negeri yang baru, menggantikan Habib el-Adli, yang dikritik karena kebrutalan yang terhadap para demonstran. Wagdi sebelumnya merupakan kepala Departemen Investigasi Kriminal Kairo dan juga mantan kepala penjara. Para pengunjuk rasa menuntut Habib al-Adli, dipecat setelah polisi menggunakan kekerasan terhadap para demonstran termasuk pemukulan, penembakan gas air mata dan peluru karet.
Seperti dikutip dari Al Jazeera, Wakil perdana menteri, menteri keuangan dan menteri perdagangan yang baru juga telah ditunjuk Mubarak. Meskipun dijanjikan reformasi kelembagaan politik dan ekonomi, puluhan ribu orang terus protes di jalan-jalan Mesir.
"Kami tidak akan menerima perubahan selain kepergian Mubarak," seru salah seorang demonstran.
Demonstran lain berkata, "Kami ingin perubahan lengkap pemerintah, dengan otoritas sipil."
Tampaknya. demonstrasi akan tetap dilakukan selama Mubarok masih tetap berkuasa di Mesir.[ald]
Besok, Aksi Sejuta Orang Siap Guncang Kairo
Mereka mengabaikan larangan keluar rumah yang diberlakukan pemerintah Jumat pekan lalu.
Senin, 31 Januari 2011, 16:37 WIB
Renne R.A Kawilarang
VIVAnews - Gelombang demonstrasi anti Presiden Hosni Mubarak terus berlanjut di Mesir. Bahkan muncul rencana untuk menggelar aksi lebih dari sejuta orang di Ibukota Kairo pada Selasa esok.
Seruan itu dilancarkan kelompok "Gerakan 6 April" seperti dikutip stasiun berita Al Jazeera, Senin 31 Januari 2011. Ratusan demonstran memilih menginap di Lapangan Tahrir, Kairo, sejak Senin dini hari. Mereka mengabaikan larangan keluar rumah (jam malam) yang diberlakukan pemerintah Mesir sejak Jumat pekan lalu.
"Mereka seolah-olah ingin berkata, 'Kami tinggal di sini. Kami memperkuat kembali gerakan, dan tidak akan ke mana-mana," ujar salah seorang koresponden Al Jazeera di Kairo.
Para pemrotes pun mengabaikan janji Mubarak Sabtu pekan lalu, untuk melakukan reformasi ekonomi dan politik. Mereka menganggap janji-janji itu sudah terlambat, dan terlalu kecil. Para demonstran tetap menuntut agar Mubarak mundur dari jabatan yang direngkuhnya selama 30 tahun saat krisis ekonomi melanda Mesir.
• VIVAnews
Bawa 100 Kopor, Keluarga Mubarak Terbang ke London
Senin, 31 Januari 2011 | 08:53 WIB
TEMPO Interaktif, Kairo - Presiden Mesir Hosni Mubarak tampaknya tengah memasuki hari-hari akhir kekuasaannya. Istrinya, Suzanne Mubarak, dan anak perempuannya telah diterbangkan ke London dengan menggunakan pesawat jet pribadi kemarin malam.
Press TV melaporkan keluarga Mubarak itu terlihat membawa lebih dari 100 kopor. Mereka akan bergabung dengan Gamal Mubarak, anak lelaki Presiden yang telah lebih dulu sampai di London pekan lalu.
Beberapa tweet Twitter menyebutkan pesawat jet pribadi itu mendarat mulus di Bandara Heathrow London. Mereka kemungkinan menuju Wilton Place, Westminster.
Situs Al Jazeera mendapat informasi bahwa keluarga Mubarak tinggal di kawasan elit di pusat London itu. Tapi wartawan Al Jazeera yang mendatangi kawasan itu tak menemukan rumah penguasa Mesir tersebut.
Gamal Mubarak juga diketahui memiliki properti mewah di Knightsbridge, Inggris. "Dia dan istrinya sempat terlihat tengah berjalan-jalan di keramaian London," tulis Al Jazeera.
Selain Gamal, Menteri Pertahanan Mesir Mohamed Hussein Tantawi juga terbang dengan jet pribadi. Ia dilaporkan menuju Washington untuk melakukan lobi khusus dengan pemerintah Amerika Serikat.
Press TV | YR
Kekayaan Hosni Mubarak Rp 287 Triliun
Senin, 31 Januari 2011 | 19:56 WIB
REUTERS
TEMPO Interaktif, Presiden Mesir Hosni Mubarak telah berkuasa selama 30 tahun di Mesir. Selama itulah dia memumpuk kekayaan, menurut situs Daily Telegraph, kekayaan Mubarak mencapai 20 miliar pounds atau sekitar Rp 287 triliun.
Kekayaan Mubarak ini sebagian disimpan di sejumlah rekening bank di Swiss, Amerika Serikat dan Inggris. Sebagian lagi hartanya berupa properti yang tersebar di Los Angeles, Washington dan New York.
Sejak berkuasa pada 1981, Mubarak mampu membuat negara di Afrika Utara itu stabil. Rahasianya, dia membangun hubungan baik dengan negara-negara Barat dan Israel. Namun di balik kestabilan, korupsi, kemiskinan dan kekerasan oleh negara tumbuh subur di Mesir.
Mubarak lahir 1982 di desa Kahel-el-Meselha. Dia tamat dari Akademi Militer pada 1949. Setelah perang Arab-Israel, Mubarak mendapat promosi menjadi Kepala Angkatan Udara Mesir, inilah pintu pertama dia masuk ke lingkaran elit politik.
Mubarak dikenal seorang pembantu setia Presiden Mesir Anwar Sadat. Dia diangkat jadi Wakil Presiden oleh Anwar Sadat pada 1975. Sejak itu dia memainkan peranan penting: membangun hubungan dengan negara-negara barat. Pada 1981, Sadat dibunuh, Mubarak naik menjadi orang nomor satu di Mesir.
Satu bukti kedekatan Mubarak dengan negara Barat, yakni ketika bekas Perdana Menteri Inggris Tony Blair menghabiskan liburan di vila mewah Mubarak di Laut Merah. Blair bersama keluarganya menginap di vila bernama Sharm-el-Sheikh.
Mubarak menikah dengan Suzanne, yang berdarah campuran, Mesir-Inggris. Ayah Suzanne, Saleh Thabet, yang berprofesi sebagai dokter anak bertemu dengan Lily May Palmer, suster yang tumbuh dewasa di Wales. Mereka bertemu di London. Saleh kemudian menikah dengan Lily, dan lahirlah Suzanne.
Dalam sebuah wawancara dua tahun lalu, Suzanne mengatakan masih memiliki saudara sepupu di Inggris. "Aku sangat nyaman dengan dua budaya ini, dua bahasa, dua dunia yang berbeda," kata ibu negara berusia 69 tahun tersebut.
Mubarak dan Suzanne memiliki dua anak laki-laki, Alaa dan Gamal. Keduanya berkarir di bidang keuangan. Alaa, si sulung, jarang muncul dan tidak tertarik politik. Sedangkan Gamal, 47, lebih sering terlihat dan lebih dikenal orang.
Gamal terjun ke dunia politik pada 2000. Ayahnya menunjuk dia menjadi Sekretaris Jenderal partai berkuasa, National Democratic Party.
Gamal lulusan American University di Kairo, dia bekerja di Bank of America, Mesir lalu pindah ke London. Dia tinggal di sebuah rumah mewah 5 lantai di kawasan elit London, Knightsbridge.
Di rumah bergaya Georgian seharga 8,5 juta pounds atau sekitar Rp 122 miliar, Suzanne kini tinggal. Dia dikabarkan telah terbang ke Inggris dengan membawa 100 kopor.
POERNOMO G. RIDHO
Senin, 31/01/2011 17:29 WIB
Istana: Tak Ada Alasan Krisis Mesir Terjadi di Indonesia
Anwar Khumaini - detikNews
Jakarta - Mantan Wakil Presiden Jusuf Kalla (JK) mengatakan krisis di Mesir dan Tunisia bisa menjalar ke Indonesia karena masih banyak KKN, kemiskinan dan gejolak harga pangan. Istana mengatakan tak ada alasan krisis Mesir bisa menjalar, karena keamanan di Indonesia terjamin.
"Di Indonesia situasi sektor ekonomi dan keuangan tidak rawan dan mengkhawatirkan. Dari segi politik, ekonomi dan hankam, dalam kondisi cukup stabil. Jadi tidak ada alasan untuk itu terjadi di Indonesia," ujar juru bicara Presiden bidang dalam negeri Julian Aldrin Pasha.
Hal itu dikatakan Julian saat diminta tanggapan atas komentar JK di Kantor Presiden, Jl Medan Merdeka Utara, Jakarta Pusat, Senin (31/1/2011).
Pemerintah dan warga negara Indonesia, imbuhnya, tidak perlu mengkhawatirkan krisis tersebut akan terjadi di sini. Karena hingga saat ini keamanan yang dibutuhkan rakyat terjamin.
"Karena bagaimana pun yang dibutuhkan oleh rakyat adalah keamanan, dan rasa aman itu sampai sejauh ini masih terkendali. Indonesia adalah negara besar, variatif dari sisi etnis, tapi
kita punya social capital yang kuat yakni kebersamaan," jelas Julian.
Baik pemerintah dan rakyat Indonesia, imbuhnya, sama-sama tidak menginginkan adanya kerusuhan seperti di Mesir. Krisis itu sudah dialami Indonesia tahun 1998, karena krisis finansial global.
Julian menambahkan, Presiden SBY mengatakan kepentingan rakyat harus didahulukan. Dan pemerintah berharap kondisi di Mesir segera pulih.
"Kita tahu perkembangan di sana tidak lebih baik, oleh karena itu Presiden mengatakan kepentingan rayat lebih didahulukan. Kondisi di Mesir memang sulit, Pemerintah cuma bisa
berharap kondisi di Mesir segera pulih," jelasnya.
Krisis di Mesir terjadi terinspirasi Tunisia yang rakyatnya berhasil menggulingkan presidennya yang korup. Sebanyak 6.100 WNI berada di Mesir akan dievakuasi lewat udara karena krisis di negeri Cleopatra itu semakin memburuk.
(nwk/nrl)
CAIRO, Jan 31, 2011 (AFP)
Egyptian protesters have called for a "million man march" on Tuesday in Cairo to mark one week since the start of the biggest anti-government protests in three decades, organisers told AFP.
BEIJING, Jan 31, 2011 (AFP)
Chinese censors are apparently blocking online discussion and sanitising news reports about the unrest in Egypt, in a sign of official unease that the uprising could fuel calls for reform at home.
Keyword searches on the protests returned no results Monday on microblogs and the reader comment function on news reports about Egypt was disabled on major portals as China's pervasive censorship apparatus swung into full gear.
News coverage of the demonstrations against the 30-year rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was limited to sparse accounts that largely glossed over the underlying political factors and calls for democracy.
The coverage tended to emphasise the lawlessness in Cairo and the need to restore order -- a message hammered home by the foreign ministry.
Major Chinese newspapers on Monday ran no photos from Egypt, while the main midday news omitted footage of street protests, instead showing Mubarak meeting top officials.
"I would imagine the government put out some sort of order for all outlets to use only copy from (state-run news agency) Xinhua. That's the standard procedure," said Jeremy Goldkorn, editor of the Beijing-based China media website danwei.org, which also is blocked by censors.
"That way they can sterilise the depiction of the situation or portray it as something negative or a product of Western influence."
China maintains a tight grip on its online and traditional media, actively blocking content seen as a potential challenge to the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party.
China's leaders have faced mounting public discontent in recent years over a range of political hot-button issues including persistent reports of abusive government officials, dangerous environmental damage and now surging inflation.
China suppressed violent ethnic uprisings in Tibet and the mainly Muslim Xinjiang region of northwestern China in 2008 and 2009, while the Nobel Peace Prize won by dissident writer Liu Xiaobo in October also rattled Beijing.
Coverage of Liu's honour was limited to government denunciations of the decision by the Oslo-based Nobel committee, and foreign TV coverage of the ceremony honouring Liu in December was blacked out.
Beijing's reaction to the Egypt situation recalls similar curbs put in place during the so-called "colour revolutions" in Eastern Europe a decade ago.
The Global Times, a party-linked newspaper known for its nationalist views, ran an editorial Sunday entitled "Colour revolutions will not bring about real democracy," that warned of the chaos that could stem from such revolts.
"As a general concept, democracy has been accepted by most people. But when it comes to political systems, the Western model is only one of a few options," it said.
"It takes time and effort to apply democracy to different countries, and to do so without the turmoil of revolution."
China's countless online blogs -- the main outlet for relatively free public expression -- appeared scrubbed of the subject. Keyword searches on sina.com's microblog, the market leader with more than 50 million users, returned no results on the Egypt unrest on Monday.
Searches on major web portals returned an error message saying the topic was not allowed under "relevant laws".
The explosive growth of Twitter-like microblogging services has emerged as a new challenge for censors seeking to control public discussion.
China blocked Twitter in 2009 -- after barring other high-profile foreign Internet services such as YouTube and Facebook -- after authorities said social-networking services were being used to fan the Xinjiang violence.
However, several Chinese imitations have since filled the void and drawn an enthusiastic following from the country's huge population of web users, the world's largest at 457 million.
Users have seized on the platform as a new avenue for mass discourse but controversial issues remain blocked, either directly by the government or by providers hoping to avoid trouble from authorities.
Chaos reigns as Egypt on the brink of revolution
Jason Koutsoukis in Cairo
January 30, 2011
Egypt president promises change, under him
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak says he will change the government tomorrow, but will keep the top job for his country's 'stability'.
EGYPTIANS woke to a new reality yesterday after a tumultuous day of unrestrained protests across the country forced autocratic President Hosni Mubarak to sack his government and promise sweeping democratic reforms.
Breaking his silence after four days of upheaval on the streets, Mr Mubarak addressed the nation early yesterday morning, promising a new economic plan to alleviate crippling poverty and unemployment, and to combat endemic corruption.
Ignoring protesters' calls that he resign immediately, it remains unclear whether the package of reforms will be enough to assuage the angry masses who inflicted a catastrophic defeat on riot police brought in to try to quash the protests on Friday.
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Battlelines ... tear gas is used on crowds in Cairo. Photo: Reuters
Stressing that he would continue performing his duty to protect Egypt's stability against those who are trying to foment ''chaos'' in the country, Mr Mubarak appeared defiant and confident, and condemned the behaviour of the protesters.
"What happened during these protests goes beyond looting, chaos, and fires to a larger plan that aims at shaking stability and hijacking legitimacy," Mr Mubarak said.
"The sweeping majority of Egyptians are racked by fear over Egypt and its future. I will not allow this fear to possess our citizens," he said.
An injured protester in Cairo. Photo: Reuters
With much of the country in open revolt, and the ruling National Democratic Party's Cairo headquarters a smouldering ruin after it was set alight on Friday, several thousand people had returned to the city's iconic Liberation Square yesterday to continue chants for Mr Mubarak's removal.
Demonstrators poured into the downtown Tahrir square demanding the departure of Mr Mubarak. ''Mubarak, out!'' the protesters chanted, as army tanks were stationed around the square and with police notably absent.
Mobile phone services were partially restored yesterday. Vodafone's service was working yesterday, about 24 hours after it was cut. Other service providers remained down, as did the internet.
After Mr Mubarak had imposed a 6pm curfew and ordered the army on to the streets on Friday afternoon, tanks were stationed on many street corners in downtown Cairo yesterday.
One of Egypt's most widely respected institutions, the army is expected to play a crucial role in the coming days and weeks as Mr Mubarak tries to hang on to power.
Despite some reports of looting and vandalism, protest organisers said the crowds had mainly shown a clear intent to protect public and private property, and berated the savage brutality of security forces brought in to try to quell the dissent.
Riot police fired thousands of tear-gas canisters at crowds during the day, with roving packs of plain-clothes police using clubs, sticks and their fists to intimidate anyone in their path, including journalists and foreign bystanders.
According to Egypt's Interior Ministry, more than 900 people were injured in the protests in Cairo, with more than 400 admitted to hospital with critical injuries, and six dead. State television said 13 people were killed in other protests in Suez and 75 were injured. Al-Jazeera news network reported that 20 people were killed during Friday's clashes.
At least six police stations were set ablaze in Cairo on Friday.
US President Barack Obama, who spoke on the phone to Mr Mubarak, called on Egyptian authorities not to use violence against their people.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also appealed for Egyptian authorities to respect the rights of their citizens, and urged them to heed demands for political and economic reform.
with AFP
Mubarak names deputy, protesters defy curfew
REUTERS, Jan 30, 2011, 03.19am IST
CAIRO: Egypt's street protesters pushed President Hosni Mubarak into naming a deputy on Saturday for the first time in his 30 years in power, but many went on defying a curfew, urging the army to join them in forcing Mubarak to quit.
Flames from the tax authority headquarters lit central Cairo after the building was set ablaze. Police again opened fire. The German, French and British leaders appealed jointly to Mubarak to stop violence against civilians and hold free elections -- a move that would surely bring his military-backed rule to an end.
In naming intelligence chief Omar Suleiman vice-president, many saw Mubarak edging toward an eventual, army-approved handover of power. The 82-year-old former general has long kept his 80 million people guessing over succession plans that had, until this week, seemed to focus on grooming his own son.
The elevation of Suleiman, a key player in relations with Egypt's key aid backer the United States, and the appointment of another military man, Ahmed Shafiq, as prime minister, pleased some Egyptians worried about a descent into chaos and looting.
According to a Reuters tally, at least 74 people have been killed during the week. Medical sources said at least 1,030 people were injured in Cairo.
US President Barack Obama met Vice-President Jo Biden and national security adviser Tom Donilon to discuss unrest in the Arab power that is a linchpin of US Middle East strategy. State department spokesman PJ Crowley said the Egyptian government "can't reshuffle the deck and then stand pat."
Demonstrators continued to flock after dark to the squares of Cairo and other cities, ignoring a curfew. They went largely unmolested by troops on foot and in tanks.
"He is just like Mubarak, there is no change," one protester said of Suleiman outside the interior ministry, where thousands were protesting. The last vice-president was Mubarak himself, before he succeeded the assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981.
Later, police opened fire on a crowd hundreds strong at the ministry. A Reuters reporter saw one protester fall wounded.
"This is the Arab world's Berlin moment," said Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics. "The authoritarian wall has fallen, and that's regardless of whether Mubarak survives.
"The barrier of fear has been removed. It is really the beginning of the end of the status quo in the region."
The prospect of even greater upheaval across the Middle East -- regardless of whether it is the crowd or their rulers who get the upper hand -- is prompting some investors to see risks for oil supplies that could in turn hamper global economic growth.
More immediately, Egypt's vital tourist industry is taking a knock. In prosperous parts of Cairo, vigilantes guarded homes, shops and hotels from looters. Thieves at the Egyptian Museum damaged two mummies from the time of the pharaohs.
Status quo
Of Suleiman, Cairo University politics professor Hassan Nafaa said: "This is a step in the right direction, but I am afraid it is a late step." A senior figure in the military class that has run Egypt for six decades, Suleiman might, Nafaa said, be able to engineer a handover that would satisfy protesters.
Jon Alterman at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies saw Suleiman as part of the status quo: "The appointment of Omar Suleiman is intended to send a message that if Hosni Mubarak leaves, the regime remains in place ... It is not intended to mollify. It is intended to show resolve."
Many saw Mubarak's concessions -- new faces and a promise of reform, as demanded on the streets and from Washington -- as an echo of those made two weeks ago by Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. A day later, Ben Ali fled the country, deserted by an army which preferred to back less hated figures in his cabinet.
Tunisians' internet-fed uprising over economic hardship and political oppression has inspired growing masses of unemployed youth across the Arab world, leaving autocratic leaders worried.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton spent two hours on Saturday discussing Egypt at the White House. Washington has already hinted it could cut aid if violence continues.
Another big donor, Germany, warned Mubarak that European states would hold back cash if his forces crushed the protests.
With the French and British leaders, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "We call on President Mubarak to renounce any violence again unarmed civilians."
Islamists
Mubarak, like other Arab leaders, has long portrayed himself as a bulwark against the West's Islamist enemies. But Egypt's banned opposition movement the Muslim Brotherhood has been only one element in the week's events. It lays claim to moderation.
"A new era of freedom and democracy is dawning in the Middle East," Kamel El-Helbawy, an influential cleric from the Brotherhood said from exile in London. "Islamists would not be able to rule Egypt alone. We should and would cooperate."
A Brotherhood lawyer in Egypt told Reuters that Mubarak's hesitation to meet protesters' demands had increased their appetite for change. Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud said Mubarak should step down -- but that an interim government was needed to preserve order for some months until free elections.
Until this week, officials had suggested Mubarak would run again in an election planned for September, which he would be guaranteed to win. If not him, many Egyptians believed, his son, Gamal, 47, could be lined up to run. This now seems impossible.
Suleiman, 74, has long been central in key policy areas, including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, an issue vital to Egypt's relationship with key aid donor the United States.
On the Corniche promenade alongside the River Nile in Cairo, people stayed out after the curfew deadline, standing by tanks and chatting with soldiers who took no action to disperse them.
At one point, dozens of people approached a military cordon carrying a sign reading "Army and People Together". Soldiers pulled back and let the group through: "There is a curfew," one lieutenant said. "But the army isn't going to shoot anyone."
The army's moment
While the police are generally feared as an instrument of repression, the army is seen as a national institution.
Rosemary Hollis, at London's City University, said the army had to decide whether it stood with Mubarak or the people: "It's one of those moments where as with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe they can come down to individual lieutenants and soldiers to decide whether they fire on the crowd or not."
In Alexandria, police used teargas and live ammunition against demonstrators earlier on Saturday. Protests continued in the port city after curfew, witnesses said.
So far, the protest movement seems to have no clear leader or organisation. Prominent activist Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Laureate for his work with the UN nuclear agency, returned to Egypt from Europe to join the protests. But many Egyptians feel he has not spent enough time in the country.
Banks will be shut on Sunday as "a precaution", Central Bank governor Hisham Ramez told Reuters. The stock market, whose benchmark index tumbled 16 percent in two days, will also be closed on Sunday. The Egyptian pound fell to six-year lows.
Read more: Mubarak names deputy, protesters defy curfew - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Mubarak-names-deputy-protesters-defy-curfew/articleshow/7386662.cms#ixzz1CXEEQvOH
Selasa, 01 Februari 2011 , 13:35:00 WIB
Laporan: Dessie Amelia
RMOL. Presiden Mesir menunjuk kabinet baru dalam upaya untuk mengatasi protes dari rakyatnya yang berkelanjutan terhadap pemerintahannya.
Mahmoud Wagdi, seorang jenderal pensiunan polisi, ditunjuk sebagai Menteri Dalam Negeri yang baru, menggantikan Habib el-Adli, yang dikritik karena kebrutalan yang terhadap para demonstran. Wagdi sebelumnya merupakan kepala Departemen Investigasi Kriminal Kairo dan juga mantan kepala penjara. Para pengunjuk rasa menuntut Habib al-Adli, dipecat setelah polisi menggunakan kekerasan terhadap para demonstran termasuk pemukulan, penembakan gas air mata dan peluru karet.
Seperti dikutip dari Al Jazeera, Wakil perdana menteri, menteri keuangan dan menteri perdagangan yang baru juga telah ditunjuk Mubarak. Meskipun dijanjikan reformasi kelembagaan politik dan ekonomi, puluhan ribu orang terus protes di jalan-jalan Mesir.
"Kami tidak akan menerima perubahan selain kepergian Mubarak," seru salah seorang demonstran.
Demonstran lain berkata, "Kami ingin perubahan lengkap pemerintah, dengan otoritas sipil."
Tampaknya. demonstrasi akan tetap dilakukan selama Mubarok masih tetap berkuasa di Mesir.[ald]
Besok, Aksi Sejuta Orang Siap Guncang Kairo
Mereka mengabaikan larangan keluar rumah yang diberlakukan pemerintah Jumat pekan lalu.
Senin, 31 Januari 2011, 16:37 WIB
Renne R.A Kawilarang
VIVAnews - Gelombang demonstrasi anti Presiden Hosni Mubarak terus berlanjut di Mesir. Bahkan muncul rencana untuk menggelar aksi lebih dari sejuta orang di Ibukota Kairo pada Selasa esok.
Seruan itu dilancarkan kelompok "Gerakan 6 April" seperti dikutip stasiun berita Al Jazeera, Senin 31 Januari 2011. Ratusan demonstran memilih menginap di Lapangan Tahrir, Kairo, sejak Senin dini hari. Mereka mengabaikan larangan keluar rumah (jam malam) yang diberlakukan pemerintah Mesir sejak Jumat pekan lalu.
"Mereka seolah-olah ingin berkata, 'Kami tinggal di sini. Kami memperkuat kembali gerakan, dan tidak akan ke mana-mana," ujar salah seorang koresponden Al Jazeera di Kairo.
Para pemrotes pun mengabaikan janji Mubarak Sabtu pekan lalu, untuk melakukan reformasi ekonomi dan politik. Mereka menganggap janji-janji itu sudah terlambat, dan terlalu kecil. Para demonstran tetap menuntut agar Mubarak mundur dari jabatan yang direngkuhnya selama 30 tahun saat krisis ekonomi melanda Mesir.
• VIVAnews
Bawa 100 Kopor, Keluarga Mubarak Terbang ke London
Senin, 31 Januari 2011 | 08:53 WIB
TEMPO Interaktif, Kairo - Presiden Mesir Hosni Mubarak tampaknya tengah memasuki hari-hari akhir kekuasaannya. Istrinya, Suzanne Mubarak, dan anak perempuannya telah diterbangkan ke London dengan menggunakan pesawat jet pribadi kemarin malam.
Press TV melaporkan keluarga Mubarak itu terlihat membawa lebih dari 100 kopor. Mereka akan bergabung dengan Gamal Mubarak, anak lelaki Presiden yang telah lebih dulu sampai di London pekan lalu.
Beberapa tweet Twitter menyebutkan pesawat jet pribadi itu mendarat mulus di Bandara Heathrow London. Mereka kemungkinan menuju Wilton Place, Westminster.
Situs Al Jazeera mendapat informasi bahwa keluarga Mubarak tinggal di kawasan elit di pusat London itu. Tapi wartawan Al Jazeera yang mendatangi kawasan itu tak menemukan rumah penguasa Mesir tersebut.
Gamal Mubarak juga diketahui memiliki properti mewah di Knightsbridge, Inggris. "Dia dan istrinya sempat terlihat tengah berjalan-jalan di keramaian London," tulis Al Jazeera.
Selain Gamal, Menteri Pertahanan Mesir Mohamed Hussein Tantawi juga terbang dengan jet pribadi. Ia dilaporkan menuju Washington untuk melakukan lobi khusus dengan pemerintah Amerika Serikat.
Press TV | YR
Kekayaan Hosni Mubarak Rp 287 Triliun
Senin, 31 Januari 2011 | 19:56 WIB
REUTERS
TEMPO Interaktif, Presiden Mesir Hosni Mubarak telah berkuasa selama 30 tahun di Mesir. Selama itulah dia memumpuk kekayaan, menurut situs Daily Telegraph, kekayaan Mubarak mencapai 20 miliar pounds atau sekitar Rp 287 triliun.
Kekayaan Mubarak ini sebagian disimpan di sejumlah rekening bank di Swiss, Amerika Serikat dan Inggris. Sebagian lagi hartanya berupa properti yang tersebar di Los Angeles, Washington dan New York.
Sejak berkuasa pada 1981, Mubarak mampu membuat negara di Afrika Utara itu stabil. Rahasianya, dia membangun hubungan baik dengan negara-negara Barat dan Israel. Namun di balik kestabilan, korupsi, kemiskinan dan kekerasan oleh negara tumbuh subur di Mesir.
Mubarak lahir 1982 di desa Kahel-el-Meselha. Dia tamat dari Akademi Militer pada 1949. Setelah perang Arab-Israel, Mubarak mendapat promosi menjadi Kepala Angkatan Udara Mesir, inilah pintu pertama dia masuk ke lingkaran elit politik.
Mubarak dikenal seorang pembantu setia Presiden Mesir Anwar Sadat. Dia diangkat jadi Wakil Presiden oleh Anwar Sadat pada 1975. Sejak itu dia memainkan peranan penting: membangun hubungan dengan negara-negara barat. Pada 1981, Sadat dibunuh, Mubarak naik menjadi orang nomor satu di Mesir.
Satu bukti kedekatan Mubarak dengan negara Barat, yakni ketika bekas Perdana Menteri Inggris Tony Blair menghabiskan liburan di vila mewah Mubarak di Laut Merah. Blair bersama keluarganya menginap di vila bernama Sharm-el-Sheikh.
Mubarak menikah dengan Suzanne, yang berdarah campuran, Mesir-Inggris. Ayah Suzanne, Saleh Thabet, yang berprofesi sebagai dokter anak bertemu dengan Lily May Palmer, suster yang tumbuh dewasa di Wales. Mereka bertemu di London. Saleh kemudian menikah dengan Lily, dan lahirlah Suzanne.
Dalam sebuah wawancara dua tahun lalu, Suzanne mengatakan masih memiliki saudara sepupu di Inggris. "Aku sangat nyaman dengan dua budaya ini, dua bahasa, dua dunia yang berbeda," kata ibu negara berusia 69 tahun tersebut.
Mubarak dan Suzanne memiliki dua anak laki-laki, Alaa dan Gamal. Keduanya berkarir di bidang keuangan. Alaa, si sulung, jarang muncul dan tidak tertarik politik. Sedangkan Gamal, 47, lebih sering terlihat dan lebih dikenal orang.
Gamal terjun ke dunia politik pada 2000. Ayahnya menunjuk dia menjadi Sekretaris Jenderal partai berkuasa, National Democratic Party.
Gamal lulusan American University di Kairo, dia bekerja di Bank of America, Mesir lalu pindah ke London. Dia tinggal di sebuah rumah mewah 5 lantai di kawasan elit London, Knightsbridge.
Di rumah bergaya Georgian seharga 8,5 juta pounds atau sekitar Rp 122 miliar, Suzanne kini tinggal. Dia dikabarkan telah terbang ke Inggris dengan membawa 100 kopor.
POERNOMO G. RIDHO
Senin, 31/01/2011 17:29 WIB
Istana: Tak Ada Alasan Krisis Mesir Terjadi di Indonesia
Anwar Khumaini - detikNews
Jakarta - Mantan Wakil Presiden Jusuf Kalla (JK) mengatakan krisis di Mesir dan Tunisia bisa menjalar ke Indonesia karena masih banyak KKN, kemiskinan dan gejolak harga pangan. Istana mengatakan tak ada alasan krisis Mesir bisa menjalar, karena keamanan di Indonesia terjamin.
"Di Indonesia situasi sektor ekonomi dan keuangan tidak rawan dan mengkhawatirkan. Dari segi politik, ekonomi dan hankam, dalam kondisi cukup stabil. Jadi tidak ada alasan untuk itu terjadi di Indonesia," ujar juru bicara Presiden bidang dalam negeri Julian Aldrin Pasha.
Hal itu dikatakan Julian saat diminta tanggapan atas komentar JK di Kantor Presiden, Jl Medan Merdeka Utara, Jakarta Pusat, Senin (31/1/2011).
Pemerintah dan warga negara Indonesia, imbuhnya, tidak perlu mengkhawatirkan krisis tersebut akan terjadi di sini. Karena hingga saat ini keamanan yang dibutuhkan rakyat terjamin.
"Karena bagaimana pun yang dibutuhkan oleh rakyat adalah keamanan, dan rasa aman itu sampai sejauh ini masih terkendali. Indonesia adalah negara besar, variatif dari sisi etnis, tapi
kita punya social capital yang kuat yakni kebersamaan," jelas Julian.
Baik pemerintah dan rakyat Indonesia, imbuhnya, sama-sama tidak menginginkan adanya kerusuhan seperti di Mesir. Krisis itu sudah dialami Indonesia tahun 1998, karena krisis finansial global.
Julian menambahkan, Presiden SBY mengatakan kepentingan rakyat harus didahulukan. Dan pemerintah berharap kondisi di Mesir segera pulih.
"Kita tahu perkembangan di sana tidak lebih baik, oleh karena itu Presiden mengatakan kepentingan rayat lebih didahulukan. Kondisi di Mesir memang sulit, Pemerintah cuma bisa
berharap kondisi di Mesir segera pulih," jelasnya.
Krisis di Mesir terjadi terinspirasi Tunisia yang rakyatnya berhasil menggulingkan presidennya yang korup. Sebanyak 6.100 WNI berada di Mesir akan dievakuasi lewat udara karena krisis di negeri Cleopatra itu semakin memburuk.
(nwk/nrl)
CAIRO, Jan 31, 2011 (AFP)
Egyptian protesters have called for a "million man march" on Tuesday in Cairo to mark one week since the start of the biggest anti-government protests in three decades, organisers told AFP.
BEIJING, Jan 31, 2011 (AFP)
Chinese censors are apparently blocking online discussion and sanitising news reports about the unrest in Egypt, in a sign of official unease that the uprising could fuel calls for reform at home.
Keyword searches on the protests returned no results Monday on microblogs and the reader comment function on news reports about Egypt was disabled on major portals as China's pervasive censorship apparatus swung into full gear.
News coverage of the demonstrations against the 30-year rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was limited to sparse accounts that largely glossed over the underlying political factors and calls for democracy.
The coverage tended to emphasise the lawlessness in Cairo and the need to restore order -- a message hammered home by the foreign ministry.
Major Chinese newspapers on Monday ran no photos from Egypt, while the main midday news omitted footage of street protests, instead showing Mubarak meeting top officials.
"I would imagine the government put out some sort of order for all outlets to use only copy from (state-run news agency) Xinhua. That's the standard procedure," said Jeremy Goldkorn, editor of the Beijing-based China media website danwei.org, which also is blocked by censors.
"That way they can sterilise the depiction of the situation or portray it as something negative or a product of Western influence."
China maintains a tight grip on its online and traditional media, actively blocking content seen as a potential challenge to the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party.
China's leaders have faced mounting public discontent in recent years over a range of political hot-button issues including persistent reports of abusive government officials, dangerous environmental damage and now surging inflation.
China suppressed violent ethnic uprisings in Tibet and the mainly Muslim Xinjiang region of northwestern China in 2008 and 2009, while the Nobel Peace Prize won by dissident writer Liu Xiaobo in October also rattled Beijing.
Coverage of Liu's honour was limited to government denunciations of the decision by the Oslo-based Nobel committee, and foreign TV coverage of the ceremony honouring Liu in December was blacked out.
Beijing's reaction to the Egypt situation recalls similar curbs put in place during the so-called "colour revolutions" in Eastern Europe a decade ago.
The Global Times, a party-linked newspaper known for its nationalist views, ran an editorial Sunday entitled "Colour revolutions will not bring about real democracy," that warned of the chaos that could stem from such revolts.
"As a general concept, democracy has been accepted by most people. But when it comes to political systems, the Western model is only one of a few options," it said.
"It takes time and effort to apply democracy to different countries, and to do so without the turmoil of revolution."
China's countless online blogs -- the main outlet for relatively free public expression -- appeared scrubbed of the subject. Keyword searches on sina.com's microblog, the market leader with more than 50 million users, returned no results on the Egypt unrest on Monday.
Searches on major web portals returned an error message saying the topic was not allowed under "relevant laws".
The explosive growth of Twitter-like microblogging services has emerged as a new challenge for censors seeking to control public discussion.
China blocked Twitter in 2009 -- after barring other high-profile foreign Internet services such as YouTube and Facebook -- after authorities said social-networking services were being used to fan the Xinjiang violence.
However, several Chinese imitations have since filled the void and drawn an enthusiastic following from the country's huge population of web users, the world's largest at 457 million.
Users have seized on the platform as a new avenue for mass discourse but controversial issues remain blocked, either directly by the government or by providers hoping to avoid trouble from authorities.
Chaos reigns as Egypt on the brink of revolution
Jason Koutsoukis in Cairo
January 30, 2011
Egypt president promises change, under him
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak says he will change the government tomorrow, but will keep the top job for his country's 'stability'.
EGYPTIANS woke to a new reality yesterday after a tumultuous day of unrestrained protests across the country forced autocratic President Hosni Mubarak to sack his government and promise sweeping democratic reforms.
Breaking his silence after four days of upheaval on the streets, Mr Mubarak addressed the nation early yesterday morning, promising a new economic plan to alleviate crippling poverty and unemployment, and to combat endemic corruption.
Ignoring protesters' calls that he resign immediately, it remains unclear whether the package of reforms will be enough to assuage the angry masses who inflicted a catastrophic defeat on riot police brought in to try to quash the protests on Friday.
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Battlelines ... tear gas is used on crowds in Cairo. Photo: Reuters
Stressing that he would continue performing his duty to protect Egypt's stability against those who are trying to foment ''chaos'' in the country, Mr Mubarak appeared defiant and confident, and condemned the behaviour of the protesters.
"What happened during these protests goes beyond looting, chaos, and fires to a larger plan that aims at shaking stability and hijacking legitimacy," Mr Mubarak said.
"The sweeping majority of Egyptians are racked by fear over Egypt and its future. I will not allow this fear to possess our citizens," he said.
An injured protester in Cairo. Photo: Reuters
With much of the country in open revolt, and the ruling National Democratic Party's Cairo headquarters a smouldering ruin after it was set alight on Friday, several thousand people had returned to the city's iconic Liberation Square yesterday to continue chants for Mr Mubarak's removal.
Demonstrators poured into the downtown Tahrir square demanding the departure of Mr Mubarak. ''Mubarak, out!'' the protesters chanted, as army tanks were stationed around the square and with police notably absent.
Mobile phone services were partially restored yesterday. Vodafone's service was working yesterday, about 24 hours after it was cut. Other service providers remained down, as did the internet.
After Mr Mubarak had imposed a 6pm curfew and ordered the army on to the streets on Friday afternoon, tanks were stationed on many street corners in downtown Cairo yesterday.
One of Egypt's most widely respected institutions, the army is expected to play a crucial role in the coming days and weeks as Mr Mubarak tries to hang on to power.
Despite some reports of looting and vandalism, protest organisers said the crowds had mainly shown a clear intent to protect public and private property, and berated the savage brutality of security forces brought in to try to quell the dissent.
Riot police fired thousands of tear-gas canisters at crowds during the day, with roving packs of plain-clothes police using clubs, sticks and their fists to intimidate anyone in their path, including journalists and foreign bystanders.
According to Egypt's Interior Ministry, more than 900 people were injured in the protests in Cairo, with more than 400 admitted to hospital with critical injuries, and six dead. State television said 13 people were killed in other protests in Suez and 75 were injured. Al-Jazeera news network reported that 20 people were killed during Friday's clashes.
At least six police stations were set ablaze in Cairo on Friday.
US President Barack Obama, who spoke on the phone to Mr Mubarak, called on Egyptian authorities not to use violence against their people.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also appealed for Egyptian authorities to respect the rights of their citizens, and urged them to heed demands for political and economic reform.
with AFP
Mubarak names deputy, protesters defy curfew
REUTERS, Jan 30, 2011, 03.19am IST
CAIRO: Egypt's street protesters pushed President Hosni Mubarak into naming a deputy on Saturday for the first time in his 30 years in power, but many went on defying a curfew, urging the army to join them in forcing Mubarak to quit.
Flames from the tax authority headquarters lit central Cairo after the building was set ablaze. Police again opened fire. The German, French and British leaders appealed jointly to Mubarak to stop violence against civilians and hold free elections -- a move that would surely bring his military-backed rule to an end.
In naming intelligence chief Omar Suleiman vice-president, many saw Mubarak edging toward an eventual, army-approved handover of power. The 82-year-old former general has long kept his 80 million people guessing over succession plans that had, until this week, seemed to focus on grooming his own son.
The elevation of Suleiman, a key player in relations with Egypt's key aid backer the United States, and the appointment of another military man, Ahmed Shafiq, as prime minister, pleased some Egyptians worried about a descent into chaos and looting.
According to a Reuters tally, at least 74 people have been killed during the week. Medical sources said at least 1,030 people were injured in Cairo.
US President Barack Obama met Vice-President Jo Biden and national security adviser Tom Donilon to discuss unrest in the Arab power that is a linchpin of US Middle East strategy. State department spokesman PJ Crowley said the Egyptian government "can't reshuffle the deck and then stand pat."
Demonstrators continued to flock after dark to the squares of Cairo and other cities, ignoring a curfew. They went largely unmolested by troops on foot and in tanks.
"He is just like Mubarak, there is no change," one protester said of Suleiman outside the interior ministry, where thousands were protesting. The last vice-president was Mubarak himself, before he succeeded the assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981.
Later, police opened fire on a crowd hundreds strong at the ministry. A Reuters reporter saw one protester fall wounded.
"This is the Arab world's Berlin moment," said Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics. "The authoritarian wall has fallen, and that's regardless of whether Mubarak survives.
"The barrier of fear has been removed. It is really the beginning of the end of the status quo in the region."
The prospect of even greater upheaval across the Middle East -- regardless of whether it is the crowd or their rulers who get the upper hand -- is prompting some investors to see risks for oil supplies that could in turn hamper global economic growth.
More immediately, Egypt's vital tourist industry is taking a knock. In prosperous parts of Cairo, vigilantes guarded homes, shops and hotels from looters. Thieves at the Egyptian Museum damaged two mummies from the time of the pharaohs.
Status quo
Of Suleiman, Cairo University politics professor Hassan Nafaa said: "This is a step in the right direction, but I am afraid it is a late step." A senior figure in the military class that has run Egypt for six decades, Suleiman might, Nafaa said, be able to engineer a handover that would satisfy protesters.
Jon Alterman at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies saw Suleiman as part of the status quo: "The appointment of Omar Suleiman is intended to send a message that if Hosni Mubarak leaves, the regime remains in place ... It is not intended to mollify. It is intended to show resolve."
Many saw Mubarak's concessions -- new faces and a promise of reform, as demanded on the streets and from Washington -- as an echo of those made two weeks ago by Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. A day later, Ben Ali fled the country, deserted by an army which preferred to back less hated figures in his cabinet.
Tunisians' internet-fed uprising over economic hardship and political oppression has inspired growing masses of unemployed youth across the Arab world, leaving autocratic leaders worried.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton spent two hours on Saturday discussing Egypt at the White House. Washington has already hinted it could cut aid if violence continues.
Another big donor, Germany, warned Mubarak that European states would hold back cash if his forces crushed the protests.
With the French and British leaders, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "We call on President Mubarak to renounce any violence again unarmed civilians."
Islamists
Mubarak, like other Arab leaders, has long portrayed himself as a bulwark against the West's Islamist enemies. But Egypt's banned opposition movement the Muslim Brotherhood has been only one element in the week's events. It lays claim to moderation.
"A new era of freedom and democracy is dawning in the Middle East," Kamel El-Helbawy, an influential cleric from the Brotherhood said from exile in London. "Islamists would not be able to rule Egypt alone. We should and would cooperate."
A Brotherhood lawyer in Egypt told Reuters that Mubarak's hesitation to meet protesters' demands had increased their appetite for change. Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maksoud said Mubarak should step down -- but that an interim government was needed to preserve order for some months until free elections.
Until this week, officials had suggested Mubarak would run again in an election planned for September, which he would be guaranteed to win. If not him, many Egyptians believed, his son, Gamal, 47, could be lined up to run. This now seems impossible.
Suleiman, 74, has long been central in key policy areas, including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, an issue vital to Egypt's relationship with key aid donor the United States.
On the Corniche promenade alongside the River Nile in Cairo, people stayed out after the curfew deadline, standing by tanks and chatting with soldiers who took no action to disperse them.
At one point, dozens of people approached a military cordon carrying a sign reading "Army and People Together". Soldiers pulled back and let the group through: "There is a curfew," one lieutenant said. "But the army isn't going to shoot anyone."
The army's moment
While the police are generally feared as an instrument of repression, the army is seen as a national institution.
Rosemary Hollis, at London's City University, said the army had to decide whether it stood with Mubarak or the people: "It's one of those moments where as with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe they can come down to individual lieutenants and soldiers to decide whether they fire on the crowd or not."
In Alexandria, police used teargas and live ammunition against demonstrators earlier on Saturday. Protests continued in the port city after curfew, witnesses said.
So far, the protest movement seems to have no clear leader or organisation. Prominent activist Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Laureate for his work with the UN nuclear agency, returned to Egypt from Europe to join the protests. But many Egyptians feel he has not spent enough time in the country.
Banks will be shut on Sunday as "a precaution", Central Bank governor Hisham Ramez told Reuters. The stock market, whose benchmark index tumbled 16 percent in two days, will also be closed on Sunday. The Egyptian pound fell to six-year lows.
Read more: Mubarak names deputy, protesters defy curfew - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Mubarak-names-deputy-protesters-defy-curfew/articleshow/7386662.cms#ixzz1CXEEQvOH
MUBARAK, your plane 1$ READY
Egypt protests: Hosni Mubarak in frantic bid to cling on to power
President appoints intelligence chief to vice-president post as streets ring out to cry of 'Mubarak, your plane is ready'
Peter Beaumont and Jack Shenker in Cairo and Paul Harris in New York
The Observer, Sunday 30 January 2011
A protester jumps from a burnt armored personnel carrier in Tahrir square in Cairo during the fifth day of protests in Egypt. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak was desperately trying to cling to power last night as troops opened fire in an attempt to keep tens of thousands of protesters from storming the interior ministry and state-run television and radio stations.
The president's attempt to mollify the demonstrators by sacking his government 24 hours earlier had failed and the leader of the largest Arab nation was facing an ignoble and violent end to his 30 years in power. The streets rang out with anti-government slogans and the cry "Mubarak, your plane is ready".
The president, 82, who has not picked a vice-president since he took office in 1981, appointed his intelligence chief and confidant, Omar Suleiman, to the post. The step indicates for the first time a possible succession plan and also suggests that Mubarak's son, Gamal, long seen as the leader-in-waiting, has been pushed out of the picture.
Suleiman, 74, has taken a close role in key policy areas, including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, an issue seen as vital to Egypt's relationship with the US, its key ally and aid donor.
Last night, even as the death toll from confrontations between the security forces and the protesters reached 100 and hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties, there were even more people on the streets of the country's major cities after dark, defying an army-backed curfew. Small-arms fire was heard throughout the night.
The chief of staff of Egypt's armed forces, Lieutenant General Sami Hafez Enan, cut short a visit to meet the American joint chiefs of staffs as news spread that some troops were refusing to open fire on unarmed protesters.
"There's a lot of uncertainty about where the army stands right now," said Karim Ennarah, who was taking part in protests in Cairo. "They are telling people that the tanks have moved in to protect them, and people are showing great warmth in return, dancing on tanks and hugging and kissing soldiers. It looks as if the soldiers are unwilling to launch attacks on the crowds, although senior officers are pleading with protesters to respect the curfew and go home."
There was speculation that the generals would persuade Mubarak to step down to avoid a total breakdown. Looters have broken into the Egyptian Museum, which hold the treasures of Tutankhamun, destroying a number of mummies. Attempts were also made to break into the national bank. Reports emerged of gunfire in the affluent Cairo neighbourhood of Mahdi. Local men were in the street with clubs and chains to prevent any looting.
Mubarak was rocked by the resignation of a senior member of his ruling party, Ahmed Ezz, a close friend of his son. Further pressure was heaped on him by the Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who said Mubarak should step down and set a framework for transition of power as the only way to end unrest. The former head of the UN nuclear watchdog told al-Jazeera that Mubarak's speech, in which he said he would form a new government, was "disappointing" for Egyptians.
David Cameron spoke to Mubarak last night to express his "grave concern" about violence against anti-government protesters in Egypt. The prime minister urged the embattled leader to "take bold steps to accelerate political reform and build democratic legitimacy" rather than attempt to repress dissent, according to Downing Street.
In a joint statement with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, Cameron added: "The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future. We urge President Mubarak to embark on a process of transformation which should be reflected in a broad-based government and in free and fair elections."
ElBaradei, a possible candidate in Egypt's presidential election this year, flew back to Cairo from Vienna on Thursday. He said: "The system of Hosni Mubarak has failed to achieve the political, economic and social demands of the Egyptian people and we want to build a new Egypt founded on freedom, democracy and social justice. The main demand is that President Mubarak announces clearly that he will resign, or that he will not run again."
Dominic Asquith, Britain's ambassador to Egypt, said of the demonstrations: "I'm struck by the variety of age, of class, of gender. It's across the board, you can see it – you can see the variety of people there. It's not, from my perception, religiously driven. This is not the Muslim Brotherhood. The important thing that we have to focus on is to try to maintain a state of order where what President Mubarak talks of, a national dialogue, can take place."
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia said: "The kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people and government declares it stands with all its resources with the government of Egypt and its people." The Saudi stock market, the Arab world's largest, dropped 6.43% amid the rising tensions. Traders fear that other Gulf markets could experience similar falls.
President Obama spoke to Mubarak on the phone, issuing a stern warning that promises of reform had to be followed by meaningful action. It was still a far way from abandoning a man who has been a trusted and loyal ally of successive US administrations. But it was a rapid shift of gears from just 24 hours previously and it was essentially driven entirely by the protesters on the streets of Cairo and Alexandria.
The situation is even more complex for Washington's other allies in the region, such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In all those countries ordinary people have watched agog at the protests and then taken to the streets in varying degrees to try to kickstart their own protests. Leaders may have to walk the same tightrope Mubarak is trying to walk: balancing promises of reform with keeping control.
President appoints intelligence chief to vice-president post as streets ring out to cry of 'Mubarak, your plane is ready'
Peter Beaumont and Jack Shenker in Cairo and Paul Harris in New York
The Observer, Sunday 30 January 2011
A protester jumps from a burnt armored personnel carrier in Tahrir square in Cairo during the fifth day of protests in Egypt. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak was desperately trying to cling to power last night as troops opened fire in an attempt to keep tens of thousands of protesters from storming the interior ministry and state-run television and radio stations.
The president's attempt to mollify the demonstrators by sacking his government 24 hours earlier had failed and the leader of the largest Arab nation was facing an ignoble and violent end to his 30 years in power. The streets rang out with anti-government slogans and the cry "Mubarak, your plane is ready".
The president, 82, who has not picked a vice-president since he took office in 1981, appointed his intelligence chief and confidant, Omar Suleiman, to the post. The step indicates for the first time a possible succession plan and also suggests that Mubarak's son, Gamal, long seen as the leader-in-waiting, has been pushed out of the picture.
Suleiman, 74, has taken a close role in key policy areas, including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, an issue seen as vital to Egypt's relationship with the US, its key ally and aid donor.
Last night, even as the death toll from confrontations between the security forces and the protesters reached 100 and hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties, there were even more people on the streets of the country's major cities after dark, defying an army-backed curfew. Small-arms fire was heard throughout the night.
The chief of staff of Egypt's armed forces, Lieutenant General Sami Hafez Enan, cut short a visit to meet the American joint chiefs of staffs as news spread that some troops were refusing to open fire on unarmed protesters.
"There's a lot of uncertainty about where the army stands right now," said Karim Ennarah, who was taking part in protests in Cairo. "They are telling people that the tanks have moved in to protect them, and people are showing great warmth in return, dancing on tanks and hugging and kissing soldiers. It looks as if the soldiers are unwilling to launch attacks on the crowds, although senior officers are pleading with protesters to respect the curfew and go home."
There was speculation that the generals would persuade Mubarak to step down to avoid a total breakdown. Looters have broken into the Egyptian Museum, which hold the treasures of Tutankhamun, destroying a number of mummies. Attempts were also made to break into the national bank. Reports emerged of gunfire in the affluent Cairo neighbourhood of Mahdi. Local men were in the street with clubs and chains to prevent any looting.
Mubarak was rocked by the resignation of a senior member of his ruling party, Ahmed Ezz, a close friend of his son. Further pressure was heaped on him by the Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who said Mubarak should step down and set a framework for transition of power as the only way to end unrest. The former head of the UN nuclear watchdog told al-Jazeera that Mubarak's speech, in which he said he would form a new government, was "disappointing" for Egyptians.
David Cameron spoke to Mubarak last night to express his "grave concern" about violence against anti-government protesters in Egypt. The prime minister urged the embattled leader to "take bold steps to accelerate political reform and build democratic legitimacy" rather than attempt to repress dissent, according to Downing Street.
In a joint statement with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, Cameron added: "The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future. We urge President Mubarak to embark on a process of transformation which should be reflected in a broad-based government and in free and fair elections."
ElBaradei, a possible candidate in Egypt's presidential election this year, flew back to Cairo from Vienna on Thursday. He said: "The system of Hosni Mubarak has failed to achieve the political, economic and social demands of the Egyptian people and we want to build a new Egypt founded on freedom, democracy and social justice. The main demand is that President Mubarak announces clearly that he will resign, or that he will not run again."
Dominic Asquith, Britain's ambassador to Egypt, said of the demonstrations: "I'm struck by the variety of age, of class, of gender. It's across the board, you can see it – you can see the variety of people there. It's not, from my perception, religiously driven. This is not the Muslim Brotherhood. The important thing that we have to focus on is to try to maintain a state of order where what President Mubarak talks of, a national dialogue, can take place."
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia said: "The kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people and government declares it stands with all its resources with the government of Egypt and its people." The Saudi stock market, the Arab world's largest, dropped 6.43% amid the rising tensions. Traders fear that other Gulf markets could experience similar falls.
President Obama spoke to Mubarak on the phone, issuing a stern warning that promises of reform had to be followed by meaningful action. It was still a far way from abandoning a man who has been a trusted and loyal ally of successive US administrations. But it was a rapid shift of gears from just 24 hours previously and it was essentially driven entirely by the protesters on the streets of Cairo and Alexandria.
The situation is even more complex for Washington's other allies in the region, such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In all those countries ordinary people have watched agog at the protests and then taken to the streets in varying degrees to try to kickstart their own protests. Leaders may have to walk the same tightrope Mubarak is trying to walk: balancing promises of reform with keeping control.
Supporters of CHANGE, the EGYPTIAN YOUTHs HAVE LOST THEIR FEAR, NOW
Mubarak hangs on to power as protests, looting convulse Egypt
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- President Hosni Mubarak's efforts to redeem his 30-year rule did little to quell Egyptian discontent Saturday as tens of thousands of demonstrators again defied a curfew to demand change and a new fear of anarchy percolated.
The world's attention fell on central Cairo where the Army was deployed to replace police forces that clashed brutally with demonstrators. But with many Cairo neighborhoods left without any security, Egyptians began to feel the sting of politics cutting into personal safety.
Shops and businesses were looted and abandoned police stations stripped clean of their arsenals.
In one area, residents set up barricades and handed out sticks and kitchen knives as defense measures. Another group of men armed themselves and planned to sit outside all night to guard their houses.
"There have been no police officers on the streets since this morning," Cairo resident Sherief Abdelbaki said. "All the men are trying to protect the ladies, their wives and children."
"We have all become vigilantes ... it's like the Wild West," he said. "Where is the security?"
After days of silence, the embattled Mubarak acted swiftly Saturday. He fired his entire cabinet, then tapped two new leaders to stand by his side.
Mubarak appointed his trusted and powerful intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, as his deputy, the first time the authoritarian regime has seen such a post. He also asked Ahmed Shafik, the civil aviation minister in the cabinet that just stepped down, to form a new government, state-run Nile TV reported. Shafik is a former Air Force officer with strong military connections.
But Egyptians fed up with with what they see as Mubarak's hollow promises for reform were hardly appeased. In a fifth day of protests engulfing the Arab world's most populous nation, people took to the streets, chanting "Down with Mubarak" and burning pictures of the authoritarian leader.
"There is very little in terms of real power that the president still has," CNN's Ben Wedeman said from Cairo. "The army is controlling the street, but politically there is a complete vacuum."
Anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets in Egypt since Tuesday. The protests come weeks after similar disturbances sparked a revolution in Tunisia, forcing then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country.
Both Egypt and Tunisia have seen dramatic rises in the cost of living in recent years and accusations of corruption among the ruling elite.
Tunisia-inspired demonstrations have also taken place in Algeria, Yemen and Jordan.
Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, who returned home to Cairo to join the demonstrations and was placed under house arrest on Friday, said Saturday that he was disappointed in Mubarak's decision to stay put.
"This is a change of personnel and we are talking about the change of a regime," ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, told Al-Jazeera television of Mubarak's government reshuffle. "The Egyptian people are saying one thing: President Hosni Mubarak must leave. We have to move towards a democratic state."
The demonstrations Saturday in Cairo and other cities were boisterous but largely peaceful. One exception was near the cordoned-off Interior Ministry, where security forces clashed violently with demonstrators Saturday afternoon.
At least one person was killed, Dr. Ragab Ali said at the Ebad Al-Rahman Clinic, a medical center near the Interior Ministry, though another doctor treating the wounded said at least five people had been shot to death.
The clashes injured at least 60 people, Ali said.
There was confusion about the human toll in the demonstrations thus far.
At least 31 people were killed in Alexandria, Egypt, hospital authorities told CNN. Earlier, the state-run Nile TV earlier reported 38 people died. It was unclear whether the Alexandria deaths were part of that toll.
Chaos reigned at Alexandria's short-staffed hospitals, where injured protesters were furious at doctors for not treating them quickly enough.
At the Interior Ministry in Cairo, police surged forward, shooting live ammunition and burning tear gas as protesters rumbled towards the building, an Alamo of sorts for the police and an outpost that stood as a highly visible and potent symbol of state authority.
Nearby, tension simmered in Tahrir Square, now littered with rocks, glass, garbage and other debris after five days of tumult. People picked up spent shotgun cartridges and tear gas canisters that said "Made in the U.S.A." They called Mubarak a puppet of America.
The powerful Egyptian army, deployed to the streets for the first time since the mid-1980s, is much more respected than the police, and many protesters embraced their presence. But whether the 450,000-strong armed forces will remain loyal to Mubarak is key for the nation's future.
The military issued a stern warning to the people on Saturday: "Stop the looting, chaos and the things that hurt Egypt. Protect the nation, protect Egypt, protect yourselves," the military said, according to Nile TV.
Suleiman's appointment as vice president was seen widely as an another attempt to restore order. "His loyalty to Mubarak seems rock solid," a former U.S. ambassador said in a classified U.S. diplomatic cable leaked to the website WikiLeaks.
Marco Vicenzino, director of the Washington-based research organization Global Strategy Project, said Mubarak's focus now is on preserving order. "And the person who can do that, obviously, is Omar Suleiman," Vicenzino said.
Suleiman has also long been seen as a possible successor to Mubarak, and tapping him as a deputy at this critical juncture might allow Mubarak to make a graceful exit, Vicenzino said.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Army Chief of Staff Sami Annan huddled with five deputies after returning home early from high-level talks at the Pentagon to address the crisis at hand, a senior Egyptian military official told CNN.
U.S. President Barack Obama convened an hourlong meeting on the Egypt crisis on Saturday that included Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and other top officials, the White House said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke to Mubarak on Saturday, according to a statement from his office.
Cameron released a joint statement on Egypt with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling on Mubarak to bring about a "process of transformation" and to hold "free and fair elections."
"It is essential that the further political, economic and social reforms President Mubarak has promised are implemented fully and quickly and meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people," the statement said. "The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future."
Mubarak imposed another nighttime curfew from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, the cities where the largest protests have unfolded. A previous curfew had been in place nationwide Friday night into Saturday morning but it failed to keep people off the streets.
The consequences of the unrest started surfacing Saturday as Egypt's Central Bank announced the closure of all banks as well as the stock market on Sunday, state-run television reported. And midyear university examinations were postponed.
The Egyptian crisis reverberated across the world, with stocks plunging on news of unrest and airlines cancelling flights. That followed a brutal crackdown Friday when thousands of riot and plainclothes police clashed violently with the protesters, firing water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas with force and impunity.
Undeterred, people ran, screamed, hurled rocks and accosted walls of security as they tried to make their way to central Cairo.
In coastal Alexandria on Saturday, at least 2,000 protesters gathered in Raml Square. There was no sign of police, and protests appeared peaceful. But in that city, too, anxiety over looting and a lack of security ran high and by nightfall, sounds of gunfire pierced the air.
Cellular service appeared to have been restored in Egypt Saturday morning. Text messaging is one of the most common modes of communication for Egyptians and was cut off amid calls for intensified dissent.
Mubarak, 82, who has not been seen in public for some time, addressed the nation in a televised speech early Saturday. He said he asked his government to step down but he intended to stay in power.
"I asked the government to resign today and I will commission a new government to take over tomorrow," Mubarak said shortly after midnight.
The aging president has ruled Egypt with an iron fist for three decades and it was widely believed he was grooming his son, Gamal, as his successor, a plan now complicated by demands for democracy.
Mubarak said, "These protests arose to express a legitimate demand for more democracy, need for a greater social safety net, and the improvement of living standards, fighting poverty and rampant corruption.
"I understand these legitimate demands of the people and I truly understand the depth of their worries and burdens, and I will not part from them ever and I will work for them every day," he said. "But regardless of what problems we face, this does not justify violence or lawlessness."
As Mubarak spoke overnight, protesters burned police stations in Cairo and Alexandria, and overturned and torched police vehicles. People gathered, expecting an announcement of Mubarak's resignation. When that did not happen, a celebratory mood quickly turned back into anger.
Protesters ransacked the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party and set it afire. Saturday afternoon, thousands of chanting demonstrators filed past the smoldering building.
As they approached the state-run television building, soldiers linked arms, forming a human chain to hold back the protesters. The crowd stopped respectfully in front of the troops, and continued chanting "Down, down, Hosni Mubarak" and "the people want to bring down the regime."
CNN's Nic Robertson, Ben Wedeman, Frederik Pleitgen, Ivan Watson, Housam Ahmed, Caroline Faraj and Saad Abedine and journalist Ian Lee contributed to this report
Death toll in Egypt's protests tops 100: sources
CAIRO | Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:40pm EST
(Reuters) - More than 100 people have been killed during anti-government protests that have swept Egypt, according to a Reuters tally of reports from medical sources, hospitals and witnesses.
There was no official figure, and the real figure may be very different, given the confusion on the streets.
On Saturday in Beni Suef, south of Cairo, police shot dead 17 people trying to attack two police stations and eight people were killed during protests. Eight others were killed in clashes when prisoners tried to escape from Abu Zaabal prison in Cairo.
Some 68 deaths were reported killed in Cairo, Suez and Alexandria during Friday's protests.
Before then, security sources had said at least six people, including a police officer, had been killed since the protests started on Tuesday.
On Saturday, medical sources told Reuters around 2,000 people had been wounded throughout the country, however with more protests erupting, that number was almost certain to rise.
The sources were unable to specify whether they were police or protesters.
(Writing by Alison Williams; editing by Jon Boyle)
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- President Hosni Mubarak's efforts to redeem his 30-year rule did little to quell Egyptian discontent Saturday as tens of thousands of demonstrators again defied a curfew to demand change and a new fear of anarchy percolated.
The world's attention fell on central Cairo where the Army was deployed to replace police forces that clashed brutally with demonstrators. But with many Cairo neighborhoods left without any security, Egyptians began to feel the sting of politics cutting into personal safety.
Shops and businesses were looted and abandoned police stations stripped clean of their arsenals.
In one area, residents set up barricades and handed out sticks and kitchen knives as defense measures. Another group of men armed themselves and planned to sit outside all night to guard their houses.
"There have been no police officers on the streets since this morning," Cairo resident Sherief Abdelbaki said. "All the men are trying to protect the ladies, their wives and children."
"We have all become vigilantes ... it's like the Wild West," he said. "Where is the security?"
After days of silence, the embattled Mubarak acted swiftly Saturday. He fired his entire cabinet, then tapped two new leaders to stand by his side.
Mubarak appointed his trusted and powerful intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, as his deputy, the first time the authoritarian regime has seen such a post. He also asked Ahmed Shafik, the civil aviation minister in the cabinet that just stepped down, to form a new government, state-run Nile TV reported. Shafik is a former Air Force officer with strong military connections.
But Egyptians fed up with with what they see as Mubarak's hollow promises for reform were hardly appeased. In a fifth day of protests engulfing the Arab world's most populous nation, people took to the streets, chanting "Down with Mubarak" and burning pictures of the authoritarian leader.
"There is very little in terms of real power that the president still has," CNN's Ben Wedeman said from Cairo. "The army is controlling the street, but politically there is a complete vacuum."
Anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets in Egypt since Tuesday. The protests come weeks after similar disturbances sparked a revolution in Tunisia, forcing then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country.
Both Egypt and Tunisia have seen dramatic rises in the cost of living in recent years and accusations of corruption among the ruling elite.
Tunisia-inspired demonstrations have also taken place in Algeria, Yemen and Jordan.
Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, who returned home to Cairo to join the demonstrations and was placed under house arrest on Friday, said Saturday that he was disappointed in Mubarak's decision to stay put.
"This is a change of personnel and we are talking about the change of a regime," ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, told Al-Jazeera television of Mubarak's government reshuffle. "The Egyptian people are saying one thing: President Hosni Mubarak must leave. We have to move towards a democratic state."
The demonstrations Saturday in Cairo and other cities were boisterous but largely peaceful. One exception was near the cordoned-off Interior Ministry, where security forces clashed violently with demonstrators Saturday afternoon.
At least one person was killed, Dr. Ragab Ali said at the Ebad Al-Rahman Clinic, a medical center near the Interior Ministry, though another doctor treating the wounded said at least five people had been shot to death.
The clashes injured at least 60 people, Ali said.
There was confusion about the human toll in the demonstrations thus far.
At least 31 people were killed in Alexandria, Egypt, hospital authorities told CNN. Earlier, the state-run Nile TV earlier reported 38 people died. It was unclear whether the Alexandria deaths were part of that toll.
Chaos reigned at Alexandria's short-staffed hospitals, where injured protesters were furious at doctors for not treating them quickly enough.
At the Interior Ministry in Cairo, police surged forward, shooting live ammunition and burning tear gas as protesters rumbled towards the building, an Alamo of sorts for the police and an outpost that stood as a highly visible and potent symbol of state authority.
Nearby, tension simmered in Tahrir Square, now littered with rocks, glass, garbage and other debris after five days of tumult. People picked up spent shotgun cartridges and tear gas canisters that said "Made in the U.S.A." They called Mubarak a puppet of America.
The powerful Egyptian army, deployed to the streets for the first time since the mid-1980s, is much more respected than the police, and many protesters embraced their presence. But whether the 450,000-strong armed forces will remain loyal to Mubarak is key for the nation's future.
The military issued a stern warning to the people on Saturday: "Stop the looting, chaos and the things that hurt Egypt. Protect the nation, protect Egypt, protect yourselves," the military said, according to Nile TV.
Suleiman's appointment as vice president was seen widely as an another attempt to restore order. "His loyalty to Mubarak seems rock solid," a former U.S. ambassador said in a classified U.S. diplomatic cable leaked to the website WikiLeaks.
Marco Vicenzino, director of the Washington-based research organization Global Strategy Project, said Mubarak's focus now is on preserving order. "And the person who can do that, obviously, is Omar Suleiman," Vicenzino said.
Suleiman has also long been seen as a possible successor to Mubarak, and tapping him as a deputy at this critical juncture might allow Mubarak to make a graceful exit, Vicenzino said.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Army Chief of Staff Sami Annan huddled with five deputies after returning home early from high-level talks at the Pentagon to address the crisis at hand, a senior Egyptian military official told CNN.
U.S. President Barack Obama convened an hourlong meeting on the Egypt crisis on Saturday that included Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and other top officials, the White House said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke to Mubarak on Saturday, according to a statement from his office.
Cameron released a joint statement on Egypt with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling on Mubarak to bring about a "process of transformation" and to hold "free and fair elections."
"It is essential that the further political, economic and social reforms President Mubarak has promised are implemented fully and quickly and meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people," the statement said. "The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future."
Mubarak imposed another nighttime curfew from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, the cities where the largest protests have unfolded. A previous curfew had been in place nationwide Friday night into Saturday morning but it failed to keep people off the streets.
The consequences of the unrest started surfacing Saturday as Egypt's Central Bank announced the closure of all banks as well as the stock market on Sunday, state-run television reported. And midyear university examinations were postponed.
The Egyptian crisis reverberated across the world, with stocks plunging on news of unrest and airlines cancelling flights. That followed a brutal crackdown Friday when thousands of riot and plainclothes police clashed violently with the protesters, firing water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas with force and impunity.
Undeterred, people ran, screamed, hurled rocks and accosted walls of security as they tried to make their way to central Cairo.
In coastal Alexandria on Saturday, at least 2,000 protesters gathered in Raml Square. There was no sign of police, and protests appeared peaceful. But in that city, too, anxiety over looting and a lack of security ran high and by nightfall, sounds of gunfire pierced the air.
Cellular service appeared to have been restored in Egypt Saturday morning. Text messaging is one of the most common modes of communication for Egyptians and was cut off amid calls for intensified dissent.
Mubarak, 82, who has not been seen in public for some time, addressed the nation in a televised speech early Saturday. He said he asked his government to step down but he intended to stay in power.
"I asked the government to resign today and I will commission a new government to take over tomorrow," Mubarak said shortly after midnight.
The aging president has ruled Egypt with an iron fist for three decades and it was widely believed he was grooming his son, Gamal, as his successor, a plan now complicated by demands for democracy.
Mubarak said, "These protests arose to express a legitimate demand for more democracy, need for a greater social safety net, and the improvement of living standards, fighting poverty and rampant corruption.
"I understand these legitimate demands of the people and I truly understand the depth of their worries and burdens, and I will not part from them ever and I will work for them every day," he said. "But regardless of what problems we face, this does not justify violence or lawlessness."
As Mubarak spoke overnight, protesters burned police stations in Cairo and Alexandria, and overturned and torched police vehicles. People gathered, expecting an announcement of Mubarak's resignation. When that did not happen, a celebratory mood quickly turned back into anger.
Protesters ransacked the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party and set it afire. Saturday afternoon, thousands of chanting demonstrators filed past the smoldering building.
As they approached the state-run television building, soldiers linked arms, forming a human chain to hold back the protesters. The crowd stopped respectfully in front of the troops, and continued chanting "Down, down, Hosni Mubarak" and "the people want to bring down the regime."
CNN's Nic Robertson, Ben Wedeman, Frederik Pleitgen, Ivan Watson, Housam Ahmed, Caroline Faraj and Saad Abedine and journalist Ian Lee contributed to this report
Death toll in Egypt's protests tops 100: sources
CAIRO | Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:40pm EST
(Reuters) - More than 100 people have been killed during anti-government protests that have swept Egypt, according to a Reuters tally of reports from medical sources, hospitals and witnesses.
There was no official figure, and the real figure may be very different, given the confusion on the streets.
On Saturday in Beni Suef, south of Cairo, police shot dead 17 people trying to attack two police stations and eight people were killed during protests. Eight others were killed in clashes when prisoners tried to escape from Abu Zaabal prison in Cairo.
Some 68 deaths were reported killed in Cairo, Suez and Alexandria during Friday's protests.
Before then, security sources had said at least six people, including a police officer, had been killed since the protests started on Tuesday.
On Saturday, medical sources told Reuters around 2,000 people had been wounded throughout the country, however with more protests erupting, that number was almost certain to rise.
The sources were unable to specify whether they were police or protesters.
(Writing by Alison Williams; editing by Jon Boyle)
MUBARAK nunut Soeharto PASCA 30 tahunan
Mubarak di Ambang Kejatuhan
MINGGU, 30 JANUARI 2011 | 05:55 WIB
TEMPO Interaktif, Kairo - Presiden Mesir Husni Mubarak, yang telah berkuasa selama 31 tahun, berada di ambang kejatuhan. Pernyataan Mubarak pada Sabtu dinihari, bahwa ia akan membentuk pemerintahan baru yang reformis, ditolak oleh puluhan ribu demonstran. Massa dengan jumlah jauh lebih besar memenuhi seantero Mesir kemarin.
Koresponden Tempo Akbar Pribadi, yang berada di tengah kerumunan sekitar 50 ribu orang di Tahrir Square, Kairo, tadi malam, melaporkan bahwa para pengunjuk rasa kini mengusung satu slogan: "Ganti rezim Mubarak." Aksi demo kemarin terhitung yang terbesar sejak unjuk rasa yang menewaskan sekitar 100 orang ini mulai digelar Selasa lalu.
"Kami ingin Mubarak pergi!" kata Mohammad Sharif, seorang demonstran. "Pidatonya justru memancing kemarahan lebih banyak orang."
Di televisi, Mubarak mengatakan telah menunjuk Kepala Intelijen Omar Suleiman sebagai wakil presiden dan Ahmad Shafiq sebagai perdana menteri tadi malam. Sebelumnya, dia menjanjikan reformasi di pemerintahannya.
Tapi semua upaya itu sepertinya akan sia-sia. Mohammad El Baradei, peraih Nobel Perdamaian yang kini tokoh oposisi, menekankan bahwa sekaranglah saatnya bagi presiden berusia 82 tahun itu untuk pergi. "Cukup sudah bagi Mubarak. Sekarang rakyat Mesir meminta dia mundur," ujarnya.
Pengamat politik Timur Tengah dari Queens University di North Carolina, Profesor Mohammed el-Nawawy, mengatakan kian besarnya skala demonstrasi di Mesir dan diturunkannya militer untuk menangani pengunjuk rasa membuktikan bahwa Mubarak telah putus asa.
Tanda-tanda kekuasaan Mubarak berada di tubir jurang antara lain ditunjukkan oleh televisi pemerintah yang mulai berbelok "membela" massa. Nil TV, misalnya, mulai menyebut "puluhan ribu demonstran" dan melaporkan penggunaan gas air mata oleh polisi. Sebelumnya, mereka menyebut demonstran sebagai "perusuh". Stasiun itu kini dijaga ketat tentara untuk menghindari pengambilalihan massa.
Pegawai negeri di beberapa kota juga menyatakan mogok sampai waktu yang tidak ditetapkan. Pegawai negeri di Alexandria bahkan terang-terangan ikut turun ke jalan.
Akbar Pribadi (Kairo) | Reza M | Anton William | YR (AP, CNN, Al Jazeera)
Could it be any worse?
Jan 28th 2011, 16:57 by Lexington
SO NOW we know: as far as President Mubarak is concerned, he's not going anywhere. In a brief speech to the nation late on Friday night he said that he was dismissing his government and appointing a new one, but that he was staying—for the sake of Egypt, of course. He favoured more democracy and economic improvements, but he would not allow the chaos to spread.
Since the one thing the rioters seemed to agree on is that he had delighted them long enough after 30 years on the presidential throne, and should depart for Saudi Arabia, it is impossible to know whether his decision to brazen it out will quieten or inflame the situation. The latter, one imagines. But—and this is speculation only—it must be assumed that the president secured the backing of the armed forces before deciding to make his stand. Thus the stage could be set for a more violent confrontation on the streets, which remain thronged in defiance of an official curfew.
Shortly after Mubarak spoke, so did Barack Obama. He called on the Egyptian president to "give meaning" to his promises to improve the lot of the Egyptian people. But all this makes it a cruel irony that Mr Obama chose Cairo as the venue for the big speech in 2009 that was designed to start to restore America's relations with the Muslim world. One of the main promises he held out there—American help for Palestinian statehood—has recently run into the sand as the result of what even his admirers admit was a sequence of cack-handed diplomatic fumbles, notably the mistake of picking a fight over Israeli settlements and then backing down. Now he will be judged, not only in Egypt but well beyond, by whose side he takes in the showdown between Hosni Mubarak and the Egyptian people.
So far, the administration has been trying hard to avoid making a choice: Mubarak is our ally but we deplore violence and are on the side of "reform", goes the line. Hillary Clinton has called for restraint on all sides and for the restoration of communications. She said America supported the universal rights of the Egyptians, and called for urgent political, economic and social reforms. This is a sensible enough line to take, but sitting on the fence becomes increasingly uncomfortable as events unfold.
As for what is really going on behind the scenes in Washington, nothing is clear yet. A bloodbath that kept Mr Mubarak in power would be a tragedy in itself and a disaster for America's reputation in the region. Perhaps the least bad outcome for America would be for Mr Mubarak to stand down, but with power passing to a person or group broadly friendly to the superpower. But who?
The question of who would succeed Mr Mubarak, even if he died peacefully, has always been a riddle. He has never appointed a vice-president and was trying to wheedle his son Gamal into the job. If the (American armed and trained) army itself does not take over, there are various pro-Western grey eminences lurking behind the scenes. Omar Suleiman, the suave intelligence chief, is close to the Americans and has fairly intimate relations with Israel, but is reported to be ill. Failing that, Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the IAEA nuclear watchdog, is at least a known quantity, though what America knows about him it does not much like. In American eyes he tilted too far towards Iran in his previous job, and is alarmingly hostile to Israel.But at least he is not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
One consoling thought going the rounds in Washington is that the Brotherhood's support is limited—and many of those demonstrating now against the regime would be appalled if the Brothers took over. But remember the Iranian revolution of 1979? That started with a broad group of opposition movements: secular leftists, liberals and trade unions as well as the Islamists. Only afterwards did the Islamists claim the revolution for themselves.
Egypt Revolution: Inside a Cairo Street Protest
In the Egyptian capital, demonstrators are defying President Mubarak’s curfew and fighting police. Ursula Lindsey joined a group of young protesters Friday and reports on the dramatic scenes.
by Ursula LindseyJanuary 28, 2011
Egyptian demonstrators flash V-signs next to a burning police vehicle in as protests erupt in Cairo on January 28, 2011.
After a day of historic protests, Cairo has entered a restless night as youths continue to fight police in the city’s central square and the national party headquarters and national museum burn.
An overnight curfew has been declared in Cairo, with President Hosni Mubarak calling in the army after a day of increasingly dramatic clashes between protesters and security forces.
The roar of the crowds and the beat of tear gas canisters being fired had reverberated through the Egyptian capital all day Friday. Inspired by the Tunisian revolution and fed up with Mubarak’s 30 years of authoritarian rule, thousands of protesters attempted to converge on the city’s central Tahrir Square to send a message that the time for change has come.
Meanwhile, the country was plunged into a telecommunications black hole, as the government took the unprecedented step of shutting down the Internet, cellphone service, and even most international telephone lines.
Early Friday morning, in a house in the middle-class neighborhood of Agouza, a group of young activists watched Al Jazeera and waited anxiously for the revolution to start.
Several of the young people in the room were members of Nobel laureate and would-be presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei’s Campaign for Change. Many of them also have links to the We Are All Khaled Said protest movement, which was formed after a young Egyptian man of that name was apparently beaten to death in police custody last year.
Sally, 32, is a psychiatrist who just moved back to Cairo from London, partly because, she says, “I want to see change.”
Salma and Omar, 19 and 22, are the niece and nephew of a political opposition figure. Salma, a slight, soft-voiced brunette, has already been arrested once for her political activism. She and her brother both say, matter-of-factly, that they’re ready to die to “free Egypt from this terrible regime.”
Ziad, 30, whose home this is, is a human rights lawyer and longtime activist. His mother, Ekram, a journalist, was one of 50 student militants arrested by President Sadat after Egypt’s 1977 bread riot—the last time Egyptians revolted this dramatically against their government. Today Ekram laid out a big breakfast of bread, olives, jam, eggs, and fruit juice. “Eat up,” she told her son and his friends. “You’re going to be running around all day.” She, meanwhile, would stay home to man the precious working land line.
All of the activists were surprised by the success of last Tuesday’s “Day of Rage” protest, when thousands of demonstrators roamed freely through the city, easily overwhelming a seemingly flabbergasted security apparatus. Nobody expected it to be that easy Friday. Indeed, everyone expected violence. “These dictators, they never learn their lesson,” said Ekram. “They understand—like Ben Ali—too late.”
Friday’s demonstrations were coordinated by groups across the spectrum of Egypt’s political opposition, including young members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who had agreed, however, not to chant religious slogans. But activists were deprived of all the tools they have used so far to organize—Twitter, Facebook, and SMS service on cellphones were shut down Thursday. By Friday morning, Internet and cellphone service across the country was gone. The activists had to resort to traditional organizing: designated land lines and safe houses; face-to-face meetings; pre-arranged rendezvous.
The plan was for large groups to gather, right after Friday prayers, in four or five Cairo neighborhoods.
At 1:15, we headed out of Ziad’s house. In groups of twos and threes, we walked along nearly empty streets toward a large square on the eastern side of the Nile. Along the way, we passed many groups of plainclothes police.
In the square, a crowd of about 2,000 people materialized. Protesters waved Egyptian flags and called out, “Hey Egyptian...Get down here!” and “We want...the fall...of this regime!”
While Ziad and his friends are mostly seasoned political activists, many of the demonstrators I spoke to were out on the street for the first time. That was the case of Doa’, a veiled 34-year-old who works in a supermarket and was at a demonstration for the first time. She’d never joined before, she says, because “I was not believing any change will happen.” But she was outraged by the deaths of seven protesters over the last three days. In Egypt today, “People are treated in a very bad way and poverty is increasing,” she said.
Doa’ was part of a joyful crowd that included professional and working-class Egyptians, Muslims, and Christians, men and women, and whole families from toddlers to grandmothers. But today many of the fist-time protesters like Doa’ have experience the state’s heavy-handed tactics. The government mobilized a massive security presence Friday: 450,000 central security troops were resportedly dispersed across the capital. They fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.
ElBaradei was greeted with water cannons and tear gas when he and his supporters exited Friday prayers. He is now under house arrest.
Meanwhile, Tahrir Square was the scene of pitched battles. By 3 p.m., protesters say, the authorities had started firing rubber bullets at them. Demonstrators carried the wounded across nearby Kasr Al Aini bridge, then flagged down taxis and called ambulances. Minutes away, in one of the five-star hotels along the Nile, foreign tourists asked frantically whether they could place calls outside the country.
At dusk, the authorities announced a curfew. The headquarters of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party were reportedly on fire. All communication networks were still down. Ekram, Zaid’s mother, still had no news of her son or any of his friends. “God protect them,” she said.
What seems clear after Friday is that Egypt seems well past any possible compromise on negotiation. Mubarak’s regime sees the protesters’ calls for a change as an existential threat and has responded with overwhelming force. But the demonstrators, who in the last few days have glimpsed an alternate future for their country, don’t seem ready to back down. No one here knows what tomorrow will bring.
After Mubarak, will Egypt face a void?
(CNN) -- Most Egyptians have known no president but Hosni Mubarak. In fact, one-third of them were born after Mubarak had already been in power for 15 years. Now, very suddenly, the people of Egypt are asking who might replace the man often dubbed Egypt's last pharaoh.
There are no obvious answers. And the pharaoh himself, now 82 years old, shows no sign of going quietly.
Mubarak has not had a vice president since he came to power in 1981, and has been quick to neutralize any challenge to his power from within. His ministers have been largely technocrats without a political base of their own. For almost 10 years, the chatter among the Egyptian elite has been about a "dynastic transition" to Mubarak's younger son, Gamal -- a long tradition in the Arab world.
U.S. diplomatic cables sent from the Cairo embassy since 2006 and published by WikiLeaks have often been preoccupied with the succession. Five years ago, one cable observed that Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, was their son's "most ardent booster" but added: "The possibility that Gamal might succeed his father remains deeply unpopular on the street."
Most notably, the cable noted that "unlike his father, (Gamal) cannot take the military's support for granted," having never served as an officer.
Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations -- who was in Cairo until Thursday -- says the protests mean "we can dismiss the possibility of Gamal Mubarak" succeeding his father. The Mubarak name is now tarnished beyond repair.
Elliott Abrams, also with the Council on Foreign Relations, agrees, posting on his blog that the protests "make it impossible that the son should succeed the father. Efforts to cram him into that position would give rise to public discontent far greater than we are seeing already."
Demonstrators in several cities in Egypt Friday tore down posters of Gamal Mubarak.
But if not the son, then who? A U.S. cable from Ambassador Margaret Scobey in 2009 lamented the lack of obvious contenders, saying Mubarak "has no single confidante or advisor who can truly speak for him, and he has prevented any of his main advisors from operating outside their strictly circumscribed spheres of power."
Thomas P. Barnett of forecasting group Wikistrat put it more colorfully: "Let me give you the four scariest words I can't pronounce in Arabic: Egypt after Hosni Mubarak."
The man at the center of a nascent opposition movement is Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel laureate and former secretary general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Last year, he returned to Cairo and formed the National Association for Change, entertaining even then that he might run for president. After a long career at the United Nations, ElBaradei is the consummate diplomat and negotiator, but some commentators ask whether he has the street instincts to deal with the rough and tumble of a volatile, fast-moving popular uprising.
Some Egyptian opposition activists have also been critical of ElBaradei's late arrival on the scene (he landed in Cairo Thursday evening and there were few supporters at the airport to greet him), and his frequent absences overseas since launching his group. On the other hand, he has won plaudits for boycotting last year's parliamentary election, which turned out to be tainted by widespread fraud. And Friday, he showed he was ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with protestors.
Another prominent Egyptian not currently associated with the government is Arab League Secretary-General Amer Moussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister. At the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, he acknowledged that "the Arab citizen is angry, is frustrated. That is the point. So the name of the game is reform." But he has shown no public interest in being involved in the process and would have to give up his current post to return to the fray of Egyptian politics.
The most widespread opposition movement, through mosques, education and welfare programs, is the Muslim Brotherhood, which is officially banned but tolerated within strict limits. It is no surprise that leaders of the Brotherhood were among the first political figures to be detained.
But years of harassment and detention have hollowed out the Brotherhood as a political force. It has not been in the vanguard of these protests and the consensus among commentators is that the Egyptian military would not tolerate the Brotherhood in power.
In any event, says Barnett -- formerly a professor at the U.S. Navy War College -- events in Egypt and Tunisia show that the "Islamist narrative" to explain the woes of the Arab world is being challenged by a maturing and well-educated youth movement whose expectations of a better life have been dashed by economic stagnation and a stifling political atmosphere.
Amr Hamzawy, research director and senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, notes in an article for the Los Angeles Times: "While the Muslim Brotherhood youth and some of their leaders participated in the protests, there were no signs saying, "Islam is the solution." Egyptians have grown accustomed to the same political forces and opposition personalities in the streets, but this fundamentally changed."
There is the possibility -- according to commentators in and beyond Egypt -- of the military acting as the "handmaiden" of any transition.
Cook of the CFR says the central question for the military command is whether and when it comes time to see Mubarak as a liability. Historically, the army is averse to "public order" duties, though it has moved in at time of crisis in the past (for example, helping to quell bread riots in 2008 -- by baking bread).
But Cook points out that the army chief of staff, Sami Annan, and others have been hand-picked by the president. Unlike Tunisia, where the military played a role in calling time on President Ben Ali, "the Egyptian army is organically tied to the regime," says Cook. And loyalty has always been a more important factor in promotion than competence, according to Egyptian analysts cited in U.S. diplomatic cables.
In the past, U.S. diplomats have discussed the possibility of Omar Suleiman, the head of the intelligence service for nearly 20 years, as a transitional leader. Now, the very public hostility to anyone close to Mubarak, and especially anyone attached to the security apparatus, may make that option less likely.
Barnett, chief analyst at Wikistrat, says Mubarak's best -- and perhaps only -- option may now be to announce an "exit date" to take the sting out of the protests, organize an orderly transition to fresh elections and hand authority to a caretaker Cabinet that could focus on growing the economy.
U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, takes a similar view: "President Mubarak has the opportunity to quell the unrest by guaranteeing that a free and open democratic process will be in place when the time comes to choose the country's next leader later this year."
Several observers say the United States' best hope is that Mubarak addresses the protestors' demands quickly and lays out a road map to real democracy.
As Cook puts it, "The idea that people could come together and oust a dictator has electrified the opposition. But this is a leaderless movement." And one thing Egypt-watchers agree upon: the speed of events, the sudden cry of "kifaya" -- "enough" -- in a country where politics has long been dormant makes prediction foolhardy.
'We are witnessing today an Arab people's revolution'
(CNN) -- We are in the midst of a brave new world.
The uprisings raging from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen are heralding a new Arab, post-Islamist revolution.
Today's events across Egypt illustrate the futility of a dictatorial Mubarak regime seeking to push back the tides of history with mere repression and brutality. They will not succeed.
President Hosni Mubarak's days, like those of deposed Tunisian President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, are numbered. The effects on the region were, until today, unthinkable.
Today's Arab revolution is no less significant than those that preceded it in recent decades in Eastern Europe and Latin America. This time, Arabs are not being led by their leaders -- from colonialism to pan-Arabism or Islamism or any other "ism" -- as was the case in the past.
Instead, they have turned on those leaders who have failed to provide them their dignity, justice and a better life. Make no mistake, we are witnessing today an Arab people's revolution.
Like those before them, today's Arab revolution will transform the region's politics. What is happening today is nothing short of what the respected Arab commentator, Rami Khouri, prophetically described late last year as the birth of Arab politics. He was right. Politics in the region will never be the same again.
Propelled by the young and the digital revolution, citizens will demand nothing less than the right to choose and change their representatives in the future.
To glimpse the nature of what can emerge, we should understand the rapidly changing social structure of Arab societies. Those societies are more educated, urban and connected than ever before. Due to the phenomenal growth of secondary and university-level education, literacy rates among the region's youths have skyrocketed in the past 40 years. The percentage of people living in Arab cities has risen by 50% in the same period.
The number of mobile phone users and internet users has proliferated to hundreds of thousands since the technology was introduced to the region 10 or 15 years ago. No wonder, then, that the people have finally snapped at the lack of opportunity and representation and the high levels of corruption and control that characterize their lives.
Most tellingly, more has united the protesting people than divided them. Notable has been the absence of a clear, emerging leader of the protests, particularly from Islamist party leadership.
The call for dignity, justice and a better life has been a universal value -- not the domain of any one particular opposing party or movement. Instead, the national movements, which these conditions have spawned, will continue to demand a political system that is more pluralistic, democratic and produces effective and competent governments sensitive to the legitimate aspirations of all the society's people.
Crucially, the unfolding events will also require a new set of calculations from the old regimes' main backers: the United States and its allies. The long-term changes for Western policy in the region should be profound. Gone should be the reflex to side with those who willfully subvert the democratic and constitutional process out of fear of the Islamist boogeyman.
The binary calculation between supporting stability on the one hand and the risks of unprecedented regime change, particularly the rise to power of Islamist parties, no longer holds. The people of the region are deciding.
The irony is that while U.S. policymakers have been playing catch-up, it has largely been U.S.-created technology -- the internet, particularly Facebook and Twitter -- that has sustained the spread of the Arab revolution.
Now is the time for policymakers to suggest an appropriate response to support a peaceful political transition in each country. Western policymakers must strike a careful balance between ensuring key interests (including support for a comprehensive peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict and Israel's security) and respecting the wishes of the region's people. In this regard, support for the peace process and Israel's interests will best be ensured by real and tangible progress over the next year.
In the case of Egypt, the most populated Arab nation and symbol of Arab leadership, the transition will be particularly important. If managed well, it will provide a useful example for all in the days and weeks ahead. The U.S. in particular has a role in persuading Mubarak to outline a peaceful transition of power to an interim administration that will manage the process to a new democratic constitution and elections.
There should also be a role for international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Gulf Council and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to lend technical and material support to the transition.
It has not been lost on many that the U.S. and other Western governments have been trying to catch up to the unfolding events -- attempting to balance support for old friends and allies with a call for restraint and urgent economic and political reforms.
This will not do. It is time to break through the past fears that have guided Western policy with fresh hope for a better future for the people of the region. It is time to choose change.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Salman Shaikh.
Egyptians brace for Friday protests
The politically embattled nation of Egypt -- rocked and stunned by an eruption of surprisingly bold street protests this week -- is bracing for a major demonstration on Friday.
There was still a smattering of street protesters in Egypt on Thursday after massive public protests on Tuesday and Wednesday calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak convulsed the nation and prompted a tough security crackdown.
There's been talk of a huge outpouring after Friday prayers, and now two major symbols of opposition plan to make their presence known in the nation.
The Muslim Brotherhood has called for its followers to demonstrate after the weekly Muslim prayers -- the first time in the current round of unrest that the largest opposition bloc has told supporters to take to the streets.
Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian Nobel laureate and opposition leader, is returning home from Europe on Thursday and plans to participate in the big protests.
"I am there to make sure that things will be managed in a peaceful way," ElBaradei said as he was waiting to leave Vienna, Austria.
"I have to give them as much support, political support, spiritual, moral, whatever I can do, you know," he said. "I will be with them. They are my people, and I have to be there, and I'd like to see Egypt, a new Egypt."
Cairo was quiet Thursday compared to previous days, but there appear to have been smaller skirmishes, and more are anticipated as night comes.
In Suez, the port city east of Cairo on the Gulf of Suez, people congregated to demand the release of those detained, and clashes broke out between demonstrators and security forces, a witness told CNN.
in Ismaeliya, Hani Abdel Latif, an Interior Ministry official, said 50 people demonstrated peacefully. But there were news reports of clashes there.
Egypt briefly closed its stock market Thursday after it fell sharply. It reopened about an hour later.
The protest movement in Egypt has been fueled by blogs, Twitter and Facebook, and ElBaradei, who is also the former head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, has been posting messages of support for the demonstrators on Twitter.
In an interview Tuesday on CNN's Connect the World, ElBaradei disputed a recent comment from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the Egyptian government is stable.
"Stability is when you have a government that is elected on a free and fair basis. And we have seen, you know, how the election has been rigged in Egypt. We have seen how people have been tortured," he said.
MINGGU, 30 JANUARI 2011 | 05:55 WIB
TEMPO Interaktif, Kairo - Presiden Mesir Husni Mubarak, yang telah berkuasa selama 31 tahun, berada di ambang kejatuhan. Pernyataan Mubarak pada Sabtu dinihari, bahwa ia akan membentuk pemerintahan baru yang reformis, ditolak oleh puluhan ribu demonstran. Massa dengan jumlah jauh lebih besar memenuhi seantero Mesir kemarin.
Koresponden Tempo Akbar Pribadi, yang berada di tengah kerumunan sekitar 50 ribu orang di Tahrir Square, Kairo, tadi malam, melaporkan bahwa para pengunjuk rasa kini mengusung satu slogan: "Ganti rezim Mubarak." Aksi demo kemarin terhitung yang terbesar sejak unjuk rasa yang menewaskan sekitar 100 orang ini mulai digelar Selasa lalu.
"Kami ingin Mubarak pergi!" kata Mohammad Sharif, seorang demonstran. "Pidatonya justru memancing kemarahan lebih banyak orang."
Di televisi, Mubarak mengatakan telah menunjuk Kepala Intelijen Omar Suleiman sebagai wakil presiden dan Ahmad Shafiq sebagai perdana menteri tadi malam. Sebelumnya, dia menjanjikan reformasi di pemerintahannya.
Tapi semua upaya itu sepertinya akan sia-sia. Mohammad El Baradei, peraih Nobel Perdamaian yang kini tokoh oposisi, menekankan bahwa sekaranglah saatnya bagi presiden berusia 82 tahun itu untuk pergi. "Cukup sudah bagi Mubarak. Sekarang rakyat Mesir meminta dia mundur," ujarnya.
Pengamat politik Timur Tengah dari Queens University di North Carolina, Profesor Mohammed el-Nawawy, mengatakan kian besarnya skala demonstrasi di Mesir dan diturunkannya militer untuk menangani pengunjuk rasa membuktikan bahwa Mubarak telah putus asa.
Tanda-tanda kekuasaan Mubarak berada di tubir jurang antara lain ditunjukkan oleh televisi pemerintah yang mulai berbelok "membela" massa. Nil TV, misalnya, mulai menyebut "puluhan ribu demonstran" dan melaporkan penggunaan gas air mata oleh polisi. Sebelumnya, mereka menyebut demonstran sebagai "perusuh". Stasiun itu kini dijaga ketat tentara untuk menghindari pengambilalihan massa.
Pegawai negeri di beberapa kota juga menyatakan mogok sampai waktu yang tidak ditetapkan. Pegawai negeri di Alexandria bahkan terang-terangan ikut turun ke jalan.
Akbar Pribadi (Kairo) | Reza M | Anton William | YR (AP, CNN, Al Jazeera)
Could it be any worse?
Jan 28th 2011, 16:57 by Lexington
SO NOW we know: as far as President Mubarak is concerned, he's not going anywhere. In a brief speech to the nation late on Friday night he said that he was dismissing his government and appointing a new one, but that he was staying—for the sake of Egypt, of course. He favoured more democracy and economic improvements, but he would not allow the chaos to spread.
Since the one thing the rioters seemed to agree on is that he had delighted them long enough after 30 years on the presidential throne, and should depart for Saudi Arabia, it is impossible to know whether his decision to brazen it out will quieten or inflame the situation. The latter, one imagines. But—and this is speculation only—it must be assumed that the president secured the backing of the armed forces before deciding to make his stand. Thus the stage could be set for a more violent confrontation on the streets, which remain thronged in defiance of an official curfew.
Shortly after Mubarak spoke, so did Barack Obama. He called on the Egyptian president to "give meaning" to his promises to improve the lot of the Egyptian people. But all this makes it a cruel irony that Mr Obama chose Cairo as the venue for the big speech in 2009 that was designed to start to restore America's relations with the Muslim world. One of the main promises he held out there—American help for Palestinian statehood—has recently run into the sand as the result of what even his admirers admit was a sequence of cack-handed diplomatic fumbles, notably the mistake of picking a fight over Israeli settlements and then backing down. Now he will be judged, not only in Egypt but well beyond, by whose side he takes in the showdown between Hosni Mubarak and the Egyptian people.
So far, the administration has been trying hard to avoid making a choice: Mubarak is our ally but we deplore violence and are on the side of "reform", goes the line. Hillary Clinton has called for restraint on all sides and for the restoration of communications. She said America supported the universal rights of the Egyptians, and called for urgent political, economic and social reforms. This is a sensible enough line to take, but sitting on the fence becomes increasingly uncomfortable as events unfold.
As for what is really going on behind the scenes in Washington, nothing is clear yet. A bloodbath that kept Mr Mubarak in power would be a tragedy in itself and a disaster for America's reputation in the region. Perhaps the least bad outcome for America would be for Mr Mubarak to stand down, but with power passing to a person or group broadly friendly to the superpower. But who?
The question of who would succeed Mr Mubarak, even if he died peacefully, has always been a riddle. He has never appointed a vice-president and was trying to wheedle his son Gamal into the job. If the (American armed and trained) army itself does not take over, there are various pro-Western grey eminences lurking behind the scenes. Omar Suleiman, the suave intelligence chief, is close to the Americans and has fairly intimate relations with Israel, but is reported to be ill. Failing that, Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the IAEA nuclear watchdog, is at least a known quantity, though what America knows about him it does not much like. In American eyes he tilted too far towards Iran in his previous job, and is alarmingly hostile to Israel.But at least he is not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
One consoling thought going the rounds in Washington is that the Brotherhood's support is limited—and many of those demonstrating now against the regime would be appalled if the Brothers took over. But remember the Iranian revolution of 1979? That started with a broad group of opposition movements: secular leftists, liberals and trade unions as well as the Islamists. Only afterwards did the Islamists claim the revolution for themselves.
Egypt Revolution: Inside a Cairo Street Protest
In the Egyptian capital, demonstrators are defying President Mubarak’s curfew and fighting police. Ursula Lindsey joined a group of young protesters Friday and reports on the dramatic scenes.
by Ursula LindseyJanuary 28, 2011
Egyptian demonstrators flash V-signs next to a burning police vehicle in as protests erupt in Cairo on January 28, 2011.
After a day of historic protests, Cairo has entered a restless night as youths continue to fight police in the city’s central square and the national party headquarters and national museum burn.
An overnight curfew has been declared in Cairo, with President Hosni Mubarak calling in the army after a day of increasingly dramatic clashes between protesters and security forces.
The roar of the crowds and the beat of tear gas canisters being fired had reverberated through the Egyptian capital all day Friday. Inspired by the Tunisian revolution and fed up with Mubarak’s 30 years of authoritarian rule, thousands of protesters attempted to converge on the city’s central Tahrir Square to send a message that the time for change has come.
Meanwhile, the country was plunged into a telecommunications black hole, as the government took the unprecedented step of shutting down the Internet, cellphone service, and even most international telephone lines.
Early Friday morning, in a house in the middle-class neighborhood of Agouza, a group of young activists watched Al Jazeera and waited anxiously for the revolution to start.
Several of the young people in the room were members of Nobel laureate and would-be presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei’s Campaign for Change. Many of them also have links to the We Are All Khaled Said protest movement, which was formed after a young Egyptian man of that name was apparently beaten to death in police custody last year.
Sally, 32, is a psychiatrist who just moved back to Cairo from London, partly because, she says, “I want to see change.”
Salma and Omar, 19 and 22, are the niece and nephew of a political opposition figure. Salma, a slight, soft-voiced brunette, has already been arrested once for her political activism. She and her brother both say, matter-of-factly, that they’re ready to die to “free Egypt from this terrible regime.”
Ziad, 30, whose home this is, is a human rights lawyer and longtime activist. His mother, Ekram, a journalist, was one of 50 student militants arrested by President Sadat after Egypt’s 1977 bread riot—the last time Egyptians revolted this dramatically against their government. Today Ekram laid out a big breakfast of bread, olives, jam, eggs, and fruit juice. “Eat up,” she told her son and his friends. “You’re going to be running around all day.” She, meanwhile, would stay home to man the precious working land line.
All of the activists were surprised by the success of last Tuesday’s “Day of Rage” protest, when thousands of demonstrators roamed freely through the city, easily overwhelming a seemingly flabbergasted security apparatus. Nobody expected it to be that easy Friday. Indeed, everyone expected violence. “These dictators, they never learn their lesson,” said Ekram. “They understand—like Ben Ali—too late.”
Friday’s demonstrations were coordinated by groups across the spectrum of Egypt’s political opposition, including young members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who had agreed, however, not to chant religious slogans. But activists were deprived of all the tools they have used so far to organize—Twitter, Facebook, and SMS service on cellphones were shut down Thursday. By Friday morning, Internet and cellphone service across the country was gone. The activists had to resort to traditional organizing: designated land lines and safe houses; face-to-face meetings; pre-arranged rendezvous.
The plan was for large groups to gather, right after Friday prayers, in four or five Cairo neighborhoods.
At 1:15, we headed out of Ziad’s house. In groups of twos and threes, we walked along nearly empty streets toward a large square on the eastern side of the Nile. Along the way, we passed many groups of plainclothes police.
In the square, a crowd of about 2,000 people materialized. Protesters waved Egyptian flags and called out, “Hey Egyptian...Get down here!” and “We want...the fall...of this regime!”
While Ziad and his friends are mostly seasoned political activists, many of the demonstrators I spoke to were out on the street for the first time. That was the case of Doa’, a veiled 34-year-old who works in a supermarket and was at a demonstration for the first time. She’d never joined before, she says, because “I was not believing any change will happen.” But she was outraged by the deaths of seven protesters over the last three days. In Egypt today, “People are treated in a very bad way and poverty is increasing,” she said.
Doa’ was part of a joyful crowd that included professional and working-class Egyptians, Muslims, and Christians, men and women, and whole families from toddlers to grandmothers. But today many of the fist-time protesters like Doa’ have experience the state’s heavy-handed tactics. The government mobilized a massive security presence Friday: 450,000 central security troops were resportedly dispersed across the capital. They fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.
ElBaradei was greeted with water cannons and tear gas when he and his supporters exited Friday prayers. He is now under house arrest.
Meanwhile, Tahrir Square was the scene of pitched battles. By 3 p.m., protesters say, the authorities had started firing rubber bullets at them. Demonstrators carried the wounded across nearby Kasr Al Aini bridge, then flagged down taxis and called ambulances. Minutes away, in one of the five-star hotels along the Nile, foreign tourists asked frantically whether they could place calls outside the country.
At dusk, the authorities announced a curfew. The headquarters of Mubarak’s National Democratic Party were reportedly on fire. All communication networks were still down. Ekram, Zaid’s mother, still had no news of her son or any of his friends. “God protect them,” she said.
What seems clear after Friday is that Egypt seems well past any possible compromise on negotiation. Mubarak’s regime sees the protesters’ calls for a change as an existential threat and has responded with overwhelming force. But the demonstrators, who in the last few days have glimpsed an alternate future for their country, don’t seem ready to back down. No one here knows what tomorrow will bring.
After Mubarak, will Egypt face a void?
(CNN) -- Most Egyptians have known no president but Hosni Mubarak. In fact, one-third of them were born after Mubarak had already been in power for 15 years. Now, very suddenly, the people of Egypt are asking who might replace the man often dubbed Egypt's last pharaoh.
There are no obvious answers. And the pharaoh himself, now 82 years old, shows no sign of going quietly.
Mubarak has not had a vice president since he came to power in 1981, and has been quick to neutralize any challenge to his power from within. His ministers have been largely technocrats without a political base of their own. For almost 10 years, the chatter among the Egyptian elite has been about a "dynastic transition" to Mubarak's younger son, Gamal -- a long tradition in the Arab world.
U.S. diplomatic cables sent from the Cairo embassy since 2006 and published by WikiLeaks have often been preoccupied with the succession. Five years ago, one cable observed that Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, was their son's "most ardent booster" but added: "The possibility that Gamal might succeed his father remains deeply unpopular on the street."
Most notably, the cable noted that "unlike his father, (Gamal) cannot take the military's support for granted," having never served as an officer.
Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations -- who was in Cairo until Thursday -- says the protests mean "we can dismiss the possibility of Gamal Mubarak" succeeding his father. The Mubarak name is now tarnished beyond repair.
Elliott Abrams, also with the Council on Foreign Relations, agrees, posting on his blog that the protests "make it impossible that the son should succeed the father. Efforts to cram him into that position would give rise to public discontent far greater than we are seeing already."
Demonstrators in several cities in Egypt Friday tore down posters of Gamal Mubarak.
But if not the son, then who? A U.S. cable from Ambassador Margaret Scobey in 2009 lamented the lack of obvious contenders, saying Mubarak "has no single confidante or advisor who can truly speak for him, and he has prevented any of his main advisors from operating outside their strictly circumscribed spheres of power."
Thomas P. Barnett of forecasting group Wikistrat put it more colorfully: "Let me give you the four scariest words I can't pronounce in Arabic: Egypt after Hosni Mubarak."
The man at the center of a nascent opposition movement is Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel laureate and former secretary general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Last year, he returned to Cairo and formed the National Association for Change, entertaining even then that he might run for president. After a long career at the United Nations, ElBaradei is the consummate diplomat and negotiator, but some commentators ask whether he has the street instincts to deal with the rough and tumble of a volatile, fast-moving popular uprising.
Some Egyptian opposition activists have also been critical of ElBaradei's late arrival on the scene (he landed in Cairo Thursday evening and there were few supporters at the airport to greet him), and his frequent absences overseas since launching his group. On the other hand, he has won plaudits for boycotting last year's parliamentary election, which turned out to be tainted by widespread fraud. And Friday, he showed he was ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with protestors.
Another prominent Egyptian not currently associated with the government is Arab League Secretary-General Amer Moussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister. At the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, he acknowledged that "the Arab citizen is angry, is frustrated. That is the point. So the name of the game is reform." But he has shown no public interest in being involved in the process and would have to give up his current post to return to the fray of Egyptian politics.
The most widespread opposition movement, through mosques, education and welfare programs, is the Muslim Brotherhood, which is officially banned but tolerated within strict limits. It is no surprise that leaders of the Brotherhood were among the first political figures to be detained.
But years of harassment and detention have hollowed out the Brotherhood as a political force. It has not been in the vanguard of these protests and the consensus among commentators is that the Egyptian military would not tolerate the Brotherhood in power.
In any event, says Barnett -- formerly a professor at the U.S. Navy War College -- events in Egypt and Tunisia show that the "Islamist narrative" to explain the woes of the Arab world is being challenged by a maturing and well-educated youth movement whose expectations of a better life have been dashed by economic stagnation and a stifling political atmosphere.
Amr Hamzawy, research director and senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, notes in an article for the Los Angeles Times: "While the Muslim Brotherhood youth and some of their leaders participated in the protests, there were no signs saying, "Islam is the solution." Egyptians have grown accustomed to the same political forces and opposition personalities in the streets, but this fundamentally changed."
There is the possibility -- according to commentators in and beyond Egypt -- of the military acting as the "handmaiden" of any transition.
Cook of the CFR says the central question for the military command is whether and when it comes time to see Mubarak as a liability. Historically, the army is averse to "public order" duties, though it has moved in at time of crisis in the past (for example, helping to quell bread riots in 2008 -- by baking bread).
But Cook points out that the army chief of staff, Sami Annan, and others have been hand-picked by the president. Unlike Tunisia, where the military played a role in calling time on President Ben Ali, "the Egyptian army is organically tied to the regime," says Cook. And loyalty has always been a more important factor in promotion than competence, according to Egyptian analysts cited in U.S. diplomatic cables.
In the past, U.S. diplomats have discussed the possibility of Omar Suleiman, the head of the intelligence service for nearly 20 years, as a transitional leader. Now, the very public hostility to anyone close to Mubarak, and especially anyone attached to the security apparatus, may make that option less likely.
Barnett, chief analyst at Wikistrat, says Mubarak's best -- and perhaps only -- option may now be to announce an "exit date" to take the sting out of the protests, organize an orderly transition to fresh elections and hand authority to a caretaker Cabinet that could focus on growing the economy.
U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, takes a similar view: "President Mubarak has the opportunity to quell the unrest by guaranteeing that a free and open democratic process will be in place when the time comes to choose the country's next leader later this year."
Several observers say the United States' best hope is that Mubarak addresses the protestors' demands quickly and lays out a road map to real democracy.
As Cook puts it, "The idea that people could come together and oust a dictator has electrified the opposition. But this is a leaderless movement." And one thing Egypt-watchers agree upon: the speed of events, the sudden cry of "kifaya" -- "enough" -- in a country where politics has long been dormant makes prediction foolhardy.
'We are witnessing today an Arab people's revolution'
(CNN) -- We are in the midst of a brave new world.
The uprisings raging from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen are heralding a new Arab, post-Islamist revolution.
Today's events across Egypt illustrate the futility of a dictatorial Mubarak regime seeking to push back the tides of history with mere repression and brutality. They will not succeed.
President Hosni Mubarak's days, like those of deposed Tunisian President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, are numbered. The effects on the region were, until today, unthinkable.
Today's Arab revolution is no less significant than those that preceded it in recent decades in Eastern Europe and Latin America. This time, Arabs are not being led by their leaders -- from colonialism to pan-Arabism or Islamism or any other "ism" -- as was the case in the past.
Instead, they have turned on those leaders who have failed to provide them their dignity, justice and a better life. Make no mistake, we are witnessing today an Arab people's revolution.
Like those before them, today's Arab revolution will transform the region's politics. What is happening today is nothing short of what the respected Arab commentator, Rami Khouri, prophetically described late last year as the birth of Arab politics. He was right. Politics in the region will never be the same again.
Propelled by the young and the digital revolution, citizens will demand nothing less than the right to choose and change their representatives in the future.
To glimpse the nature of what can emerge, we should understand the rapidly changing social structure of Arab societies. Those societies are more educated, urban and connected than ever before. Due to the phenomenal growth of secondary and university-level education, literacy rates among the region's youths have skyrocketed in the past 40 years. The percentage of people living in Arab cities has risen by 50% in the same period.
The number of mobile phone users and internet users has proliferated to hundreds of thousands since the technology was introduced to the region 10 or 15 years ago. No wonder, then, that the people have finally snapped at the lack of opportunity and representation and the high levels of corruption and control that characterize their lives.
Most tellingly, more has united the protesting people than divided them. Notable has been the absence of a clear, emerging leader of the protests, particularly from Islamist party leadership.
The call for dignity, justice and a better life has been a universal value -- not the domain of any one particular opposing party or movement. Instead, the national movements, which these conditions have spawned, will continue to demand a political system that is more pluralistic, democratic and produces effective and competent governments sensitive to the legitimate aspirations of all the society's people.
Crucially, the unfolding events will also require a new set of calculations from the old regimes' main backers: the United States and its allies. The long-term changes for Western policy in the region should be profound. Gone should be the reflex to side with those who willfully subvert the democratic and constitutional process out of fear of the Islamist boogeyman.
The binary calculation between supporting stability on the one hand and the risks of unprecedented regime change, particularly the rise to power of Islamist parties, no longer holds. The people of the region are deciding.
The irony is that while U.S. policymakers have been playing catch-up, it has largely been U.S.-created technology -- the internet, particularly Facebook and Twitter -- that has sustained the spread of the Arab revolution.
Now is the time for policymakers to suggest an appropriate response to support a peaceful political transition in each country. Western policymakers must strike a careful balance between ensuring key interests (including support for a comprehensive peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict and Israel's security) and respecting the wishes of the region's people. In this regard, support for the peace process and Israel's interests will best be ensured by real and tangible progress over the next year.
In the case of Egypt, the most populated Arab nation and symbol of Arab leadership, the transition will be particularly important. If managed well, it will provide a useful example for all in the days and weeks ahead. The U.S. in particular has a role in persuading Mubarak to outline a peaceful transition of power to an interim administration that will manage the process to a new democratic constitution and elections.
There should also be a role for international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Gulf Council and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to lend technical and material support to the transition.
It has not been lost on many that the U.S. and other Western governments have been trying to catch up to the unfolding events -- attempting to balance support for old friends and allies with a call for restraint and urgent economic and political reforms.
This will not do. It is time to break through the past fears that have guided Western policy with fresh hope for a better future for the people of the region. It is time to choose change.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Salman Shaikh.
Egyptians brace for Friday protests
The politically embattled nation of Egypt -- rocked and stunned by an eruption of surprisingly bold street protests this week -- is bracing for a major demonstration on Friday.
There was still a smattering of street protesters in Egypt on Thursday after massive public protests on Tuesday and Wednesday calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak convulsed the nation and prompted a tough security crackdown.
There's been talk of a huge outpouring after Friday prayers, and now two major symbols of opposition plan to make their presence known in the nation.
The Muslim Brotherhood has called for its followers to demonstrate after the weekly Muslim prayers -- the first time in the current round of unrest that the largest opposition bloc has told supporters to take to the streets.
Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian Nobel laureate and opposition leader, is returning home from Europe on Thursday and plans to participate in the big protests.
"I am there to make sure that things will be managed in a peaceful way," ElBaradei said as he was waiting to leave Vienna, Austria.
"I have to give them as much support, political support, spiritual, moral, whatever I can do, you know," he said. "I will be with them. They are my people, and I have to be there, and I'd like to see Egypt, a new Egypt."
Cairo was quiet Thursday compared to previous days, but there appear to have been smaller skirmishes, and more are anticipated as night comes.
In Suez, the port city east of Cairo on the Gulf of Suez, people congregated to demand the release of those detained, and clashes broke out between demonstrators and security forces, a witness told CNN.
in Ismaeliya, Hani Abdel Latif, an Interior Ministry official, said 50 people demonstrated peacefully. But there were news reports of clashes there.
Egypt briefly closed its stock market Thursday after it fell sharply. It reopened about an hour later.
The protest movement in Egypt has been fueled by blogs, Twitter and Facebook, and ElBaradei, who is also the former head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, has been posting messages of support for the demonstrators on Twitter.
In an interview Tuesday on CNN's Connect the World, ElBaradei disputed a recent comment from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the Egyptian government is stable.
"Stability is when you have a government that is elected on a free and fair basis. And we have seen, you know, how the election has been rigged in Egypt. We have seen how people have been tortured," he said.
Jumat, 28 Januari 2011
gebrakan awal taon
Busyro Menggebrak, 19 Ditahan, 5 Diburu
Oleh: Irfan Fikri
Nasional - Jumat, 28 Januari 2011 | 20:09 WIB
INILAH.COM, Jakarta - Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) resmi menahan 19 orang tersangka terkait kasus travellers cheque (cek pelawat) pada pemilihan dewan Gubernur Bank Indonesia Miranda Goeltom.
Dari 24 yang diagendakan ditahan, 4 orang mengaku sakit, sementara 1 orang sedang di luar kota. Demikian diutarakan oleh Juru Bicara KPK Johan Budi, saat jumpa pers di KPK, Jumat (28/1/2011).
Menurutnya, 4 orang yang mengaku sakit akan dilakukan pembantaran, atau pengawasan sejauh mana sakit yang di derita. Sementara satu orang yang ada di luar kota akan dijadwalkan dipanggil ulang.
"Tersangka B (Budiningsih) ada di Solo. Sementara empat orang lainnya yang mengaku sakit akan kita lakukan pembantaran," tegasnya.
Empat orang yang mengaku sakit yaitu, Hengky Baramuli (Golkar), Rusman Lumbantoruan (PDIP), Bobby SH Suhardiman (Golkar) dan Willem M Tutuarima (PDIP). "Yang sakit juga akan kita panggil minggu depan, selanjutnya seperti yang lain, akan ditahan."
Sedangkan, 19 orang yang sudah ditahan, dilakukan penahanan di tempat berbeda, diantaranya LP Cipinang, LP Salemba, LP Pondok Bambu dan Rutan Polda Metro Jaya. Berikut ini nama para tersangka yang sudah dan akan ditahan.
1.Sofyan Usman (PPP)
2.Ni Luh Maryani (PDI-P),
3.Baharudin Aritonang (Golkar),
4.Agus Condro (PDI-P),
5.Paskah Suzeta (Golkar),
6.Daniel Tandjung (PPP),
7.Soewarno (PDI-P),
8.Sutanto Pranoto (PDI-P),
9.Max Moein (PDI-P),
10.Engelina Pattiasina (PDI-P),
11.Poltak Sitorus (PDI-P),
12.Matheos Formes (PDI-P).
13.Panda Nababan (PDI-P)
14.M Iqbal (PDIP)
15.Budiningsih (PDIP), ke luar kota
16.Martin Bria Seran (Golkar)
17.Achmad Hafiz Zawawi (Golkar)
18.Bobby SH Suhardiman (Golkar) ditunda karena sakit.
19.Willem M Tutuarima (PDIP) ditunda karena sakit.
20.Rusman Lumbantoruan (PDIP) ditunda karena sakit.
21.Teuku M Nurlif (Golkar)
22.Reza Kamarullah (PDIP)
23.Asep Ruchimat Sudjana (Golkar)
24. Hengky Baramuli (Golkar) ditunda karena sakit. [mah]
Oleh: Irfan Fikri
Nasional - Jumat, 28 Januari 2011 | 20:09 WIB
INILAH.COM, Jakarta - Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) resmi menahan 19 orang tersangka terkait kasus travellers cheque (cek pelawat) pada pemilihan dewan Gubernur Bank Indonesia Miranda Goeltom.
Dari 24 yang diagendakan ditahan, 4 orang mengaku sakit, sementara 1 orang sedang di luar kota. Demikian diutarakan oleh Juru Bicara KPK Johan Budi, saat jumpa pers di KPK, Jumat (28/1/2011).
Menurutnya, 4 orang yang mengaku sakit akan dilakukan pembantaran, atau pengawasan sejauh mana sakit yang di derita. Sementara satu orang yang ada di luar kota akan dijadwalkan dipanggil ulang.
"Tersangka B (Budiningsih) ada di Solo. Sementara empat orang lainnya yang mengaku sakit akan kita lakukan pembantaran," tegasnya.
Empat orang yang mengaku sakit yaitu, Hengky Baramuli (Golkar), Rusman Lumbantoruan (PDIP), Bobby SH Suhardiman (Golkar) dan Willem M Tutuarima (PDIP). "Yang sakit juga akan kita panggil minggu depan, selanjutnya seperti yang lain, akan ditahan."
Sedangkan, 19 orang yang sudah ditahan, dilakukan penahanan di tempat berbeda, diantaranya LP Cipinang, LP Salemba, LP Pondok Bambu dan Rutan Polda Metro Jaya. Berikut ini nama para tersangka yang sudah dan akan ditahan.
1.Sofyan Usman (PPP)
2.Ni Luh Maryani (PDI-P),
3.Baharudin Aritonang (Golkar),
4.Agus Condro (PDI-P),
5.Paskah Suzeta (Golkar),
6.Daniel Tandjung (PPP),
7.Soewarno (PDI-P),
8.Sutanto Pranoto (PDI-P),
9.Max Moein (PDI-P),
10.Engelina Pattiasina (PDI-P),
11.Poltak Sitorus (PDI-P),
12.Matheos Formes (PDI-P).
13.Panda Nababan (PDI-P)
14.M Iqbal (PDIP)
15.Budiningsih (PDIP), ke luar kota
16.Martin Bria Seran (Golkar)
17.Achmad Hafiz Zawawi (Golkar)
18.Bobby SH Suhardiman (Golkar) ditunda karena sakit.
19.Willem M Tutuarima (PDIP) ditunda karena sakit.
20.Rusman Lumbantoruan (PDIP) ditunda karena sakit.
21.Teuku M Nurlif (Golkar)
22.Reza Kamarullah (PDIP)
23.Asep Ruchimat Sudjana (Golkar)
24. Hengky Baramuli (Golkar) ditunda karena sakit. [mah]
Rabu, 26 Januari 2011
koin NABI
FOTO HARI INI
Koin Untuk Presiden dan Pejabat
Sejumlah mahasiswa yang tergabung dalam gerakan rakyat untuk kesejahteraan pejabat negara menggelar aksi sumbangan koin untuk presiden dan pejabat negara di Jakarta, Kamis (27/1). Penggalangan dana tersebut untuk mencukupi kebutuhan presiden dan gubernur BI beserta 8000 pejabat negara yang mengeluh karena gajinya tidak dinaikan.
meniru dan membuat Monumen
UGM Cari 6 Mahasiswa Pembuat Crop Circle
Selasa, 25 Januari 2011 | 15:26
investor daily
YOGYAKARTA-Sebuah tulisan di blog mengklaim crop circle di areal pertanian Berbah, Sleman, merupakan buatan enam mahasiswa Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). Meski banyak yang menyebutnya hoax, pihak universitas akan melacaknya.
"Saya sudah dengar soal klaim itu, saya juga sudah berkoordinasi dengan Dekanat Fakultas MIPA dan sekarang sedang dilacak dan diselidiki," kata Kepala Humas UGM Suryo Baskoro kepada detikcom, Selasa (25/1).
Suryo mengatakan, kemungkinan crop circle itu dibuat oleh mahasiswa cukup besar. Apalagi, mahasiswa di jurusan MIPA, boleh jadi memiliki minat terhadap desain dan seni pembuatan crop circle. "Ya mungkin saja buatan mahasiswa UGM, kita coba terus selidiki itu. Nanti kalau sudah menemukan, tentu kita akan sampaikan," kata Suryo.
Ia mengatakan, sebenarnya pembuatan crop circle semacam itu bagus sebagai bentuk ekspresi diri dan kesenian. Namun sayangnya, aksi itu merusak tanaman padi milik para petani di lokasi itu.
Sebelumnya, muncul tulisan 'Terungkap Circle crop Sleman Kerjaan 6 Mahasiswa (UGM)' di internet. Namun sayangnya, penulis tidak menyebutkan idetitas siapa sang penulis dan siapa 6 mahasiswa UGM itu.
Tak Ada Radiasi
Sementara itu, Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir dan Badan Tenaga Nuklir Nasional (Batan), Selasa siang mengambil contoh tanah di lokasi penemuan crop circle untuk diselidiki dan hasilnya tidak ada anomali atau radiasi di lokasi tersebut.
"Dari hasil sementara penelitian ini, lokasi tersebut aman dan tidak ada anomali," kata Kepala Bidang Kesehatan dan Keselamatan Batan M Yasid di lokasi Crop Circle Desa Jogotirto, Kecamatan Berbah, Kabupaten Sleman.
Menurut dia, pihaknya tidak menemukan adanya gelombang radiasi di area persawahan tempat penemuan crop circle.
"Kami telah mengambil contoh tanah dan Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir (Bapeten) juga ambil sampel. Nanti masing-masing akan mengecek di laboratorium, hasilnya mungkin bisa nanti sore atau besok," katanya.
Ia mengatakan, contoh tanah yang diambil berupa beberapa kantong tanah di tiga titik, yakni bagian centre crop circle, lingkar dalam dan lingkar luar. "Hasil sementara, kami tidak temukan radioaktif beta dan alpa, sehingga kawasan ini aman," katanya.
Kepala Sub Bidang Pengelolaan Limbah Batan, Gede Sutrisna mengatakan setelah melakukan penelitian di seluruh lokasi, sama sekali tidak ada zat-zat yang berbahaya.
"Ini hanya padi yang roboh saja, padinya juga aman untuk dikonsumsi. Tidak ada zat bahaya atau limbah," katanya.
Bagian Kesiapsiagaan Nuklir Bapeten I Putu Elba juga menegaskan bahwa hasil kosmik menunjukkan hal yang wajar.
"Semuanya normal dan murni tidak ditemukan radiasi, hasil pemeriksaan kosmiknya ialah 0,1 micro SV. Sedang kadar maksimal itu ialah 1 mili SV, jadi ini sangat normal," katanya.
Makan Korban Tewas
Masih terkait crop circle, “fenomena alam” yang mendadak jadi tujuan wisata itu memakan satu orang tewas saat hendak menontonnya. Jenazah pria yang dikabarkan seorang mahasiswa itu siang ini sedang dievakuasi polisi.
Kapolsek Berbah AKP I Made Muliawan mengatakan, korban tewas karena terjatuh dari bukit Gunung Suru yang licin saat menonton crop circle. Saat peristiwa itu terjadi, lokasi itu sedang hujan deras disertai petir dan angin kencang. (gor)
Selasa, 25 Januari 2011 | 15:26
investor daily
YOGYAKARTA-Sebuah tulisan di blog mengklaim crop circle di areal pertanian Berbah, Sleman, merupakan buatan enam mahasiswa Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). Meski banyak yang menyebutnya hoax, pihak universitas akan melacaknya.
"Saya sudah dengar soal klaim itu, saya juga sudah berkoordinasi dengan Dekanat Fakultas MIPA dan sekarang sedang dilacak dan diselidiki," kata Kepala Humas UGM Suryo Baskoro kepada detikcom, Selasa (25/1).
Suryo mengatakan, kemungkinan crop circle itu dibuat oleh mahasiswa cukup besar. Apalagi, mahasiswa di jurusan MIPA, boleh jadi memiliki minat terhadap desain dan seni pembuatan crop circle. "Ya mungkin saja buatan mahasiswa UGM, kita coba terus selidiki itu. Nanti kalau sudah menemukan, tentu kita akan sampaikan," kata Suryo.
Ia mengatakan, sebenarnya pembuatan crop circle semacam itu bagus sebagai bentuk ekspresi diri dan kesenian. Namun sayangnya, aksi itu merusak tanaman padi milik para petani di lokasi itu.
Sebelumnya, muncul tulisan 'Terungkap Circle crop Sleman Kerjaan 6 Mahasiswa (UGM)' di internet. Namun sayangnya, penulis tidak menyebutkan idetitas siapa sang penulis dan siapa 6 mahasiswa UGM itu.
Tak Ada Radiasi
Sementara itu, Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir dan Badan Tenaga Nuklir Nasional (Batan), Selasa siang mengambil contoh tanah di lokasi penemuan crop circle untuk diselidiki dan hasilnya tidak ada anomali atau radiasi di lokasi tersebut.
"Dari hasil sementara penelitian ini, lokasi tersebut aman dan tidak ada anomali," kata Kepala Bidang Kesehatan dan Keselamatan Batan M Yasid di lokasi Crop Circle Desa Jogotirto, Kecamatan Berbah, Kabupaten Sleman.
Menurut dia, pihaknya tidak menemukan adanya gelombang radiasi di area persawahan tempat penemuan crop circle.
"Kami telah mengambil contoh tanah dan Badan Pengawas Tenaga Nuklir (Bapeten) juga ambil sampel. Nanti masing-masing akan mengecek di laboratorium, hasilnya mungkin bisa nanti sore atau besok," katanya.
Ia mengatakan, contoh tanah yang diambil berupa beberapa kantong tanah di tiga titik, yakni bagian centre crop circle, lingkar dalam dan lingkar luar. "Hasil sementara, kami tidak temukan radioaktif beta dan alpa, sehingga kawasan ini aman," katanya.
Kepala Sub Bidang Pengelolaan Limbah Batan, Gede Sutrisna mengatakan setelah melakukan penelitian di seluruh lokasi, sama sekali tidak ada zat-zat yang berbahaya.
"Ini hanya padi yang roboh saja, padinya juga aman untuk dikonsumsi. Tidak ada zat bahaya atau limbah," katanya.
Bagian Kesiapsiagaan Nuklir Bapeten I Putu Elba juga menegaskan bahwa hasil kosmik menunjukkan hal yang wajar.
"Semuanya normal dan murni tidak ditemukan radiasi, hasil pemeriksaan kosmiknya ialah 0,1 micro SV. Sedang kadar maksimal itu ialah 1 mili SV, jadi ini sangat normal," katanya.
Makan Korban Tewas
Masih terkait crop circle, “fenomena alam” yang mendadak jadi tujuan wisata itu memakan satu orang tewas saat hendak menontonnya. Jenazah pria yang dikabarkan seorang mahasiswa itu siang ini sedang dievakuasi polisi.
Kapolsek Berbah AKP I Made Muliawan mengatakan, korban tewas karena terjatuh dari bukit Gunung Suru yang licin saat menonton crop circle. Saat peristiwa itu terjadi, lokasi itu sedang hujan deras disertai petir dan angin kencang. (gor)
Selasa, 25 Januari 2011
hikmah Tunisia
Insiden Tunisia Sebaiknya Dijadikan Pelajaran bagi Indonesia
Rabu, 26 Januari 2011 | 0:23
investor daily
JAKARTA- Seorang Guru Besar bidang Hubungan Internasional, Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, Universitas Indonesia (FISIP UI), Prof Dr Zaenuddin Djafar mengatakan, insiden Tunisia sebaiknya dijadikan pelajaran bagi pemerintah serta masyarakat Indonesia.
"Tunisia (tragedi unjuk rasa besar) sebaiknya dapat dijadikan pelajaran bagi pemerintah Indonesia untuk menyelenggarakan pemerintahan yang lebih baik dan bebas dari Korupsi, Kolusi dan Nepotisme (KKN),” kata Zaenuddin seusai ceramah bertema "Pergolakan Politik di Tunisia dan Implikasi ke Kawasan Timur Tengah di kantor berita Antara, Jakarta, Selasa.
Menurut Zaenuddin, terdapat sejumlah faktor pemicu terjadinya kerusuhan yang menginginkan pemerintahan Presiden Zine El Abidine Ben Ali di Tunisia melakukan reformasi yang terdiri faktor ekonomi, demokrasi dan unsur masyarakat yang jenuh terhadap keadaan negara yang tidak stabil.
Pembakaran diri seorang sarjana yang menjadi penjual buah bernama Bouazizi karena ekonominya yang terpuruk menurut Zaenuddin hanyalah pemicu kecil kerusuhan.
Zaenuddin menambahkan bahwa terdapat organisasi masyarakat yang luar biasa dalam mengatur penggulingan rezim Ben Ali yang begitu cepat.
“Selain itu korupsi, kolusi dan nepotisme yang terjadi dalam pemerintahan Ben Ali juga menjadi faktor penyebab masyarakat menjadi jenuh atas pemerintahan yang kotor,” ungkap dia.
Menurut Zaenuddin, demokrasi yang berjalan kurang lancar dan tertutup di Tunisia membuat masyarakatnya terkekang dan merasa frustrasi sehingga ingin melakukan reformasi pemerintahan Tunisia yang korup.
Jika memandang kepada penyebab reformasi yang hampir serupa dengan pemerintah Indonesia pada orde baru yang digulingkan akibat KKN, Indonesia diharap menjadikan insiden di Tunisia sebagai pelajaran dalam menjalankan negaranya menjadi lebih baik.
Merunut dari sejarah sejak peralihan orde lama ke orde baru, kemudian orde baru ke era reformasi saat ini, pergolakan di tanah air selalu diawali dengan pergerakan rakyat yang melawan ketidakadilan dan ketidakmampuan pemerintah dalam mengelola ekonomi dan politik.
"Bagaimanapun bagusnya program suatu negara, namun masih melakukan korupsi maka hal itu akan sulit dilakukan, jadi korupsi harus diberantas," kata Zaenuddin. (ant/gor)
Rabu, 26 Januari 2011 | 0:23
investor daily
JAKARTA- Seorang Guru Besar bidang Hubungan Internasional, Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, Universitas Indonesia (FISIP UI), Prof Dr Zaenuddin Djafar mengatakan, insiden Tunisia sebaiknya dijadikan pelajaran bagi pemerintah serta masyarakat Indonesia.
"Tunisia (tragedi unjuk rasa besar) sebaiknya dapat dijadikan pelajaran bagi pemerintah Indonesia untuk menyelenggarakan pemerintahan yang lebih baik dan bebas dari Korupsi, Kolusi dan Nepotisme (KKN),” kata Zaenuddin seusai ceramah bertema "Pergolakan Politik di Tunisia dan Implikasi ke Kawasan Timur Tengah di kantor berita Antara, Jakarta, Selasa.
Menurut Zaenuddin, terdapat sejumlah faktor pemicu terjadinya kerusuhan yang menginginkan pemerintahan Presiden Zine El Abidine Ben Ali di Tunisia melakukan reformasi yang terdiri faktor ekonomi, demokrasi dan unsur masyarakat yang jenuh terhadap keadaan negara yang tidak stabil.
Pembakaran diri seorang sarjana yang menjadi penjual buah bernama Bouazizi karena ekonominya yang terpuruk menurut Zaenuddin hanyalah pemicu kecil kerusuhan.
Zaenuddin menambahkan bahwa terdapat organisasi masyarakat yang luar biasa dalam mengatur penggulingan rezim Ben Ali yang begitu cepat.
“Selain itu korupsi, kolusi dan nepotisme yang terjadi dalam pemerintahan Ben Ali juga menjadi faktor penyebab masyarakat menjadi jenuh atas pemerintahan yang kotor,” ungkap dia.
Menurut Zaenuddin, demokrasi yang berjalan kurang lancar dan tertutup di Tunisia membuat masyarakatnya terkekang dan merasa frustrasi sehingga ingin melakukan reformasi pemerintahan Tunisia yang korup.
Jika memandang kepada penyebab reformasi yang hampir serupa dengan pemerintah Indonesia pada orde baru yang digulingkan akibat KKN, Indonesia diharap menjadikan insiden di Tunisia sebagai pelajaran dalam menjalankan negaranya menjadi lebih baik.
Merunut dari sejarah sejak peralihan orde lama ke orde baru, kemudian orde baru ke era reformasi saat ini, pergolakan di tanah air selalu diawali dengan pergerakan rakyat yang melawan ketidakadilan dan ketidakmampuan pemerintah dalam mengelola ekonomi dan politik.
"Bagaimanapun bagusnya program suatu negara, namun masih melakukan korupsi maka hal itu akan sulit dilakukan, jadi korupsi harus diberantas," kata Zaenuddin. (ant/gor)
Senin, 03 Januari 2011
gereja aku
saat gereja semakin tertinggal pemahamannya terhadap lingkungan, maka gereja bak batu karang yang dihantam ombak laut yang ganas dan dibiarkan hancur sendirian
nilai-nilai keindahan sebuah gereja musnah saat batu karang teguh itu pupus
bukan kah lambang kebersamaan gerakan ekumene adalah kapal yang mengarungi laut berombak
gereja seharusnya menjadi kapal yang mempunyai tujuan tapi harus melalui ombak laut ganas dan jinak
gereja sebagai kapal adalah keindahan gereja
saatnya hari ini gereja berubah dari batu karang menjadi kapal
kapal yang bertujuan
yaitu mencapai keindahan hidup sebagai umat sang Kepala gereja
umat yang berdosa
umat yang telah menjauhi sang Kepala
tapi
umat yang DITERIMA dengan TANGAN TERBUKA oleh sang Kepala
dipeluk erat dan ditangisi oleh Nya
umat yang dicari dan dicari setiap hari oleh Nya
yang diendus bahkan saat bau umatNya tak tercium oleh manusia
sang Kepala gereja adalah Kepala yang mengarahkan gereja, menjadi kapal itu lah wadahNya sehingga mencapai kebersamaan dan keeratan dengan sang Kepala di tengah ombak ganas kehidupan yang selalu berubah dan terombang-ambing
jadi gereja sang Kepala memeluk umat yang berdosa, menjauhi sang Kepala, namum diterima dan dipeluk oleh Nya supaya setiap hari tetap dicari dan diendusNya sehingga mencapai kebersamaan dan keeratan denganNya dalam kehidupan yang selalu berubah
itu lah gereja aku
gerejaku yang mau mengampuni, mendampingi, dan melindungi
bukan
gereja yang makin teguh bak batu karang yang teguh
bukan
gereja yang too well organized
nilai-nilai keindahan sebuah gereja musnah saat batu karang teguh itu pupus
bukan kah lambang kebersamaan gerakan ekumene adalah kapal yang mengarungi laut berombak
gereja seharusnya menjadi kapal yang mempunyai tujuan tapi harus melalui ombak laut ganas dan jinak
gereja sebagai kapal adalah keindahan gereja
saatnya hari ini gereja berubah dari batu karang menjadi kapal
kapal yang bertujuan
yaitu mencapai keindahan hidup sebagai umat sang Kepala gereja
umat yang berdosa
umat yang telah menjauhi sang Kepala
tapi
umat yang DITERIMA dengan TANGAN TERBUKA oleh sang Kepala
dipeluk erat dan ditangisi oleh Nya
umat yang dicari dan dicari setiap hari oleh Nya
yang diendus bahkan saat bau umatNya tak tercium oleh manusia
sang Kepala gereja adalah Kepala yang mengarahkan gereja, menjadi kapal itu lah wadahNya sehingga mencapai kebersamaan dan keeratan dengan sang Kepala di tengah ombak ganas kehidupan yang selalu berubah dan terombang-ambing
jadi gereja sang Kepala memeluk umat yang berdosa, menjauhi sang Kepala, namum diterima dan dipeluk oleh Nya supaya setiap hari tetap dicari dan diendusNya sehingga mencapai kebersamaan dan keeratan denganNya dalam kehidupan yang selalu berubah
itu lah gereja aku
gerejaku yang mau mengampuni, mendampingi, dan melindungi
bukan
gereja yang makin teguh bak batu karang yang teguh
bukan
gereja yang too well organized
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