Granger Calls for Cautious U.S. Response to Events in Egypt
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
On Monday, Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX), Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, released the following statement regarding U.S. aid for Egypt: “While there are calls for eliminating Egypt’s economic and military aid, I urge caution when deciding what the U.S. response will be. It is critical that we are deliberate about the actions we take. Egypt has been a moderate influence in the Middle East and has a peace agreement with Israel. I am continuing to monitor the events on the ground very closely.” On Friday, she also released a statement urging the Egyptian government and the opposition to exercise restraint.
Posted in Egypt, Foreign Aid, Protests, US foreign policy | Comment »
Egypt: Protesters Call for Strike, Million Man March
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
On Monday, Egyptian protesters called for an indefinite general strike and for a “million man march” in the capital on Tuesday to mark one week since the start of the protests. In an attempt to stymie protests, the government cancelled national train station leading protesters to also plan a million-strong march in Alexandria as well. The Egyptian army also said on Monday that it would not stop protesters: ”To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people,” stress that “they have not and will not use force against the Egyptian people,” Meanwhile, protesters in Midan Tahrir have said, “We will stay in the square, until the coward leaves.”
On Monday, the Noor Group, the last internet service provider still functioning in Egypt, has gone offline. Minutes earlier, Egypt’s information ministry announced that the mobile phone networks would be shut down during the next few hours ahead of the planned demonstrations on Tuesday. The BBC reports, that in response Egyptians have turned to low-tech ways to communicate including morse code on ham radios, fax machines, and dial-up internet.
Posted in Egypt, Freedom, Protests, Reform | Comment »
Egypt: Opposition Groups Form Steering Committee, Tap ElBaradei as Spokesman
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
On Sunday, Egypt’s opposition groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, agreed to back Mohamed ElBaradei as the lead spokesman for the country’s opposition groups in reform negotiations and to lead an interim government. This marked the first real attempt by opposition forces to organize behind a common voice. Speaking in Cairo on Sunday, ElBaradei stated that he now has “the popular and political support” necessary to being the process of forming a unity government and would seek contact with the army to discuss a political transition: “Once Mubarak is out, you will see that a lot of these demonstrators will go home. We are capable here of running a smooth transitional period.” The opposition groups formed a steering committee to strategize further movements and pressure President Hosni Mubarak and his military leaders for more political concessions. Members of the group include ElBaradei (NAC), Ayman Nour (Ghad), Osama Ghazali-Harb (DFP); Abdel-Gelil Moustafa (NAC); George Ishak (Kefaya); Mohd El-Beltagui (MB), Magdy Ahmed Hussein (Hezb al-Amal al-Islami – Islamic Workers’ Party & also Kefaya), Hamdil Sabahi (Karama), Abdel Halim Qandil (Nasserist Party). The tenth seat is reserved for the youth movement, and a representative has not yet been named.
Not all believe that ElBaradei is the best choice, however. ElBaradei is not “a leader that stands out who can unify everybody,” says Hala ElBarkouky, an Egyptian investment banker and financial consultant who participated in a steering committee meeting on Sunday. “He was not there for the people,” she states, noting that his absence to previous demonstrations. It is a sentiment many in Egypt feel. ElBaradei, however, has stated that he does not seek presidency and hopes to simply help the democratic transition.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Protests, Reform | Comment »
Nelson Calls on Mubarak to Execute Free and Fair Elections and Resign
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
Writing at The Hill‘s Congress Blog, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) discussed the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and stated that while Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak‘s naming of Omar Suleiman as his vice president is a step in the right direction, change must be made. “He cannot afford to clamp down again, as he initially tried to do,” Nelson says, “Instead, Mr. Mubarak will have to go — but not without an exit strategy that prevents the government from falling and leaving the door open for extremists.” Nelson goes on to say that if “President Obama pushes for Mubarak’s departure, the Egyptian government might fall into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood” and we may see a repeat of the Iranian revolution of 1979. To quell protesters, he states that Mubarak must “guarantee the people the right to vote in free and fair elections” which are open to international observers and to also give his written assurance that he will not submit his name for candidacy.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Protests, Reform | Comment »
EU Leaders Call for Dialogue and Reform in Egypt
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
On Monday, European Union foreign ministers met to discuss the events in Egypt and called for “peaceful dialogue” between protesters and the government. They called for democratic reform that pave the way for “fair and free elections” and for an “orderly transition” to a broad-based government in Egypt. EU foreign affairs chief Baroness Ashton called for immediate talks with opposition saying, “It’s absolutely critical that the government engage in open, frank, direct dialogue.” Foreign ministers urged Hosni Mubarak to embark on reform but stopped short of demanding he leave. Several ministers, including British Foreign Secretary William Hague and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, said it was important that Egypt did not fall into the hands of extremists.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, EU, Protests, Reform | Comment »
Gibbs Calls on Mubarak for Concrete Action and Discusses Muslim Brotherhood’s Role
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs dismissed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak‘s move to appoint a new government saying that the situation in the country called for action not appointments. Gibbs called for negotiations “with a broad cross-section of the Egyptian people, including the current government” and said that the transition will “have to address the freedoms that the people of Egypt seek” including free and fair elections, scrapping the emergency laws, and changes to the constitution to allow greater democracy. When asked whether the US government was comfortable with and could work with the Muslim Brotherhood in power, Gibbs stated, “I think, from what we can see, it’s not accurate to say that those protesting are made up of one particular group or one particular ideology. I think it is clear that an increase in democratic representation has to include a whole host of important non-secular actors. We do not have contact with [the Muslim Brotherhood], and we have, as we have throughout the world, standards for that contact… adherence to the law, adherence to non-violence and a willingness to be part of a democratic process and not simply use those process [to win power].”
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Protests, Reform | Comment »
US Sends Special Envoy to Egypt
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
On Monday, the State Department announced that former ambassador to Egypt (1986-1991), Frank Wisner, is now on the ground in Cairo and will be meeting with Egyptian officials to urge them to embrace economic and political changes, which can pave the way for free and fair elections. State Department Spokesman Phillip Crowley stated that Wisner “has the ability” to talk to Egyptian leaders.
Posted in Egypt, Reform | Comment »
Voices From Tahrir Square
January 31st, 2011 by Alec
Despite an internet blackout by the Egyptian government, POMED has been regularly in touch with contacts on the ground in Egypt by telephone. Now that the cell phone networks are mostly back up, we are now able to speak with a variety of human rights activists live in Tahrir Square. Three of our contacts today gave us permission to share audio of their comments, which are available here:
Esraa Abdelfattah – Egyptian Democratic Academy (EDA)
“They don’t care about any change in the government [...] they want Mubarak to go first.”
“Until Mubarak leaves, we cannot move.”
“All Egyptian people don’t want Mubarak as President!”
Gamal Eid – Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI)
“The people were calling and screaming against Omar Suleiman and against Ahmed Shafiq, we refuse.”
“We’ll never forget who can support the dictator.”
Soha Abdelaty – Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
“People don’t care about the new ministers, they just want to see him [Hosni Mubarak] gone.”
“They want the U.S. to come out and say it, that he needs to go.”
“It’s not about the government, it’s about him. It’s very personal.”
Posted in Egypt, Protests, Public Opinion | Comment »
White House Prepares for a Post-Mubarak Egypt
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
Josh Rogin writing at The Cable, spoke with National Security Staff experts who attended a White House meeting on Monday morning over the events in Egypt. The experts stated that the meeting was “intense and constructive” and that “a real debate over the path forward for U.S. policy ensued,” with White House staff implying that they believed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was on his way out. While they have not directly told Mubarak to leave, they have made the United States’ expectations clear; ”We can’t be seen as picking a winner. We can’t be seen as telling a leader to go,” said Ben Rhodes, NSS Senior Director for Multilateral Engagement. While the White House staff is skeptical that new Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman will take over they do see him as an influential force during the “transition period. ” Rogin states that “transition” is the administrations new buzz word which allows them “to position themselves on the side of the protesters without throwing Mubarak completely under the bus.”
Michele Dunne, senior associate in the Middle East Department at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and member of the bi-partisan Egypt Working Group, also urged the White House to make swifter and more forceful statements to prevent misperceptions in Egypt that the U.S. tried to prop up Mubarak’s regime: “What we were trying to tell them is that change is coming, the status quo is passing away, and the question is do we want to shape that change constructively or not.”
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Protests, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
Egypt: Omar Suleiman Pledges Reform
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
New Egyptian vice president Omar Suleiman announced: “I have been asked by the president to contact all the political parties regarding constitutional reform.” Suleiman also promised to investigate the results of the last elections and called for implementation of Constitutional Court orders to re-run certain districts’ parliamentary polls of November 2010 in coming weeks. He also stated that the government “will fight unemployment, poverty and corruption.”
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Reform | Comment »
Head of Arab League Calls for Multi-Party Democracy in Egypt
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
On Sunday, the head of the Arab League Amr Moussa said he wanted to see a multi-party democracy emerge in Egypt and called on President Hosni Mubarak to respond to protesters’ demands for reforms rather than reshuffling ministers: “This new government should be just the beginning, just a new prime minister and new ministers does not necessarily mean a change, clear lines of policy will have to be declared.” And while he is not seeking presidency, he did not rule out playing a role if the country did move to a multi-party system. He also called on Arab leaders to take note: “The Arab world now is on the path of change. This is the motto now, reform, change, modernisation.”
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Protests, Reform | Comment »
Reactions to Egyptian Crackdown on Al-Jazeera
January 31st, 2011 by Alec
U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley expressed ”concern” at the Egyptian government’s shutdown of Al-Jazeera and the arrest of six of its correspondents on Monday stating: “Egypt must be open and the reporters released” [the reporters have since been released]. Officials from Human Rights Watch have denounced the Egyptian government for its actions and praised Al-Jazeera’s coverage as “invaluable.” Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch Middle East and North Africa director, said that the shutdown, “is a sign of just how desperate the government has become to cut Egyptians off from news, information and communication.” Egyptian and Saudi media, and some local Egyptian officials, have insinuated or outright accused the network of trying to foment revolution and of having “Islamist vendettas.”
Posted in Egypt, Journalism, Protests | Comment »
More Photos from Tahrir Square – Continued
January 31st, 2011 by Alec
Protesters pitch tents in Tahrir Square. Photo courtesy of Ramy Raoof.
Posted in Egypt, Protests | Comment »
Egypt: Army Says Will Not Use Violence Garnering U.S. Praise
January 31st, 2011 by Alec
The Egyptian army has pledged not to use force against demonstrators. A statement from the army said that freedom of expression was guaranteed for all citizens, recognized the “legitimacy” of their demands, and reiterated that its primary goal was to protect the people, primarily from looters and criminals. The U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen praised the army’s “professionalism” in not cracking down on protesters.
Posted in Egypt, Military, Protests | Comment »
POMED Notes: “The Breakdown of Autocracy in Tunisia”
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
On Monday, The Maghreb Center hosted a discussion at Georgetown University on the causes of the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia and the role of the United States and France before, during, and after the revolution. Dr. Néjib Ayachi, founding President of the Maghreb Center and International Development Consultant at the World Bank, opened the discussion and introduced the panelists: Stephen King, Professor of Government at Georgetown University, Robert Prince, Lecturer in International Studies at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, and Rust M. Deming, former Ambassador to Tunisia from 2000 to 2003. The event was moderated by Ahmed El-Hamri, Economist at the World Bank and Associate at the Maghreb Center.
To read full notes continue below, or click here for pdf.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Event Notes, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Political Parties, Protests, Reform, Tunisia | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Tunisia and the Arab Malaise”
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
On Tuesday, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a discussion on the uprising in Tunisia and the prospects for the Tunisian example spreading across the Arab World. Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center moderated the event and introduced the speakers: Alan Goulty, former British Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia and current Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and David Ottaway, Senior Scholar at the Wilson Center and former Cairo Bureau Chief of the Washington Post.
To read full notes continue below or click here for pdf.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Egypt, Event Notes, Jordan, Protests, Reform, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen | Comment »
More Photos from Tahrir Square
January 31st, 2011 by Alec
From Andrew Sullivan’s The Daily Dish: Face of The Day
A protestor with an eye bandage saying ‘Go Mubarak’ in Arabic stands in Tahrir Square on January 31, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. By Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images.
Posted in Egypt, Protests | Comment »
Syria: Assad Announces Reform As Opposition Groups Call for Protests
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stated that the protests in the Arab world are ushering in a new era in the Middle East and that the Arab rulers need to do more to accommodate the rising political and economic aspirations of its people. Assad acknowledged that reforms inside of Syria have not progressed as quickly as he had envisioned and that this was due, in part, to external situations which affected the country such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and instability in Pakistan. The external issues, he said, led him to focus on stability and security. He also stated : “if you want to talk about the changes internally, there must be a different kind of changes: political, economic and administrative. These are the changes that we need. But at the same time you have to upgrade the society.” He also said that he would push through political reforms this year which will help empower nongovernmental organizations, initiate municipal elections, and help establish a new media law.
Meanwhile, speculation that protests may erupt in Syria is gaining traction. Reports are surfacing that opposition groups are organizing through Facebook to set up rallies for a “day of rage” and that the Syrian government has banned cellphone Facebook applications. Reports also indicate that the government has broken up attempts to stage rallies outside the Egyptian embassy in Damascus and has pre-deployed military troops to the northern city of Aleppo, where protests are being planned. The protests are planned to coincide with the anniversary of the 1982 Hama massacre, where Assad’s father, former President Hafez al-Assad, killed several thousand civilians.
Posted in Protests, Reform, Syria | Comment »
Ros-Lehtinen Statements on Protests in Egypt
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
In a statement released on Friday, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said, “For far too long the democratic hopes of the Egyptian people have been suppressed. Their cries for freedom can no longer be silenced.” She also voiced concerns over the government’s use of force and that “certain extremist elements inside Egypt will manipulate the current situation for nefarious ends” and called for the U.S. and others to support the “pursuit of freedom, democracy, and human rights.” On Saturday, Ros-Lehtinen also called for new elections: “The Egyptian people need to be afforded a peaceful venue to express their will. Mr. Mubarak should listen to the demands of the Egyptian people for freedom and immediately schedule legitimate, democratic, internationally-recognized elections.” She also added that “the U.S. should learn from past mistakes and support a process which only includes candidates who meet basic standards for leaders of responsible nations: candidates who have publicly renounced terrorism, uphold the rule of law, recognize Egypt’s international commitments including its nonproliferation obligations and its peace agreement with the Jewish State of Israel, and who ensure security and peace with its neighbors.”
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Protests, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
White House Not Ready to Cut Ties with Mubarak
January 31st, 2011 by Naureen
As reported earlier, White House officials met with members of the Egypt Working Group on Monday. Laura Rozen, writing at her Politico blog, spoke to an attendee who summarized the meeting saying they “rolled key ideas around and know there is no quick reform package that works with Mubarak.” The administration, he said, is considering various options, including the possibility of telling President Hosni Mubarak, privately, that it’s time to leave. However, the attendee stated, “I don’t think they are there yet.”
Posted in Egypt, Protests, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
