Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Egypt's Armed Forces: 'No Violence' Against the People
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- As anti-government demonstrations persist across Egypt and the country's military firmly puts its boots on the ground to establish order, the army said it won't deploy "violence" against the people. A military spokesman said on state TV Monday that "freedom of opinion in a peaceful manner is allowed for all" and the "armed forces are aware of the legitimate demands of the honest citizens." "The presence of the armed forces in the Egyptian streets is for your benefit to protect your safety and peace," said the spokesman for the army, which has been regarded favorably by many protesters who despise the police and see that institution as an ally. The armed forces "will not use violence against this great people which have always played a significant role in every moment of Egypt's great history. And we reassure the armed forces are a force of stability and security for this great nation. The protection of the people is one of its core values," the spokesman said. This statement comes as activists in Cairo, Alexandria and other restive Egyptian cities robustly took to the streets in peaceful rallies Monday and a major outpouring is planned for Tuesday. They protested the rule of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who remains in power despite repeated grassroots calls for his ouster and widespread dissatisfaction over his Cabinet selections. And many observers regard the seething rage of the past week as the calm before the storm. Egyptians plan another huge wave of demonstrations on Tuesday, so-called "million-man" marches in Cairo and Alexandria that will occur a week after the historic anti-government protests began. Egyptian security forces in Cairo have been setting up concrete barriers around key locations ahead of the march, including iconic sites such as Tahrir, or Liberation, Square, the Egypt State TV building and the Interior Ministry. The ongoing demonstrations, inspired in part by a Tunisian uprising, follow years of social, political and economic grievances that bubbled up among the citizenry. Fed up with years of corruption, poverty and lack of opportunity, masses of people have boldly shouted their displeasure with Mubarak in public protests. After ruling Egypt with an iron fist for three decades, Mubarak has given no indication of giving up his rule. He swore in a few new Cabinet members on Monday. After discharging his previous Cabinet on Saturday, Mubarak appointed his trusted and powerful intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, as his vice president, the first time the authoritarian regime has had such a post. The president charged newly appointed Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq with shaping the Cabinet of his reshuffled government, which will have the goal of restoring national security and Egyptians' faith in their country's economy. Mubarak on Monday swore in Mahmoud Wagdy as the new interior minister. He replaces Habib el-Adly, who has been criticized by protesters because of police actions. Others sworn in on Monday were Finance Minister Samir Radwan, a former economist at the International Labor Organization, and Health Minister Ahmed Hosni Farid. Radwan told CNN's "Quest Means Business" that his priority is "to show that this is a government that responds to the demands -- the fair demands, I would say -- of the people in Tahrir Square." "We need to use public expenditure to achieve some sort of social justice and a better distribution of the fruits of growth, as to the bottom 40% of this country." At the same time, he said, Egypt shouldn't sacrifice economic reforms and gains "that enabled it to stand the storm of two successive crises -- the food crisis and the financial crisis." Meanwhile, there are international indications that the world could accept a changed Egypt without Mubarak. Asked Sunday on TV whether the Obama administration still backs Mubarak as the legitimate president of Egypt, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hedged. "We have been very clear that we want to see a transition to democracy. And we want to see the kind of steps taken that will bring that about. We also want to see an orderly transition," she said. She said the United States wants to see a "well-thought-out plan that will bring about a democratic, participatory government." "I also believe that this is in Egypt's long-term interests. It's in the interest of the partnership that the United States has had with Egypt," she said, noting that the situation is "intensely complex," without "quick yes or no answers." While it was widely believed Mubarak was grooming his son, Gamal, as his successor, that plan now has been complicated by demands for democracy. Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel laureate and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is one of several opposition figures whose names surface when protesters talk about possible future leaders of Egypt. Among other names is Amre Moussa, head of the Arab League. Several opposition movements have been represented on the streets in the demonstrations. Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, secretary-general of the Wafd Party, told CNN the group's followers have been "extremely active." He said he hopes opposition forces such as his party can help bring about a peaceful transition of power. A government-imposed curfew began at 3 p.m., but this daily restriction has been largely ignored by protesters over the past few days, and it was again Monday. In Alexandria, an armored personnel carrier fired warning shots as about 2,000 to 3,000 people gathered. The shots were seen as an apparent effort to intimidate protesters near a hotel. In Cairo, the crowd has swelled compared with Saturday and Sunday, and people gathered Monday in Tahrir Square, a focal point of the protests. Some of them said they had spent the night. The smell of smoke from campfires lingered in the air. Police have been virtually absent from the streets since Saturday, after a brutal crackdown a day earlier when thousands of riot and plainclothes police clashed violently with protesters. But police forces were scheduled to start deploying and resuming their duties throughout Egypt on Monday, state-run Nile TV reported. Human Rights Watch researcher Heba Morayef said the army is controlling the square and checking people's IDs at all entry points. She said there are some police visible in Cairo, such as traffic officers, but no state security police could be spotted downtown. While it's difficult to ascertain a solid death toll during the violence, Human Rights Watch staffers have confirmed 80 deaths from two hospitals in Cairo, 36 deaths in Alexandria and 13 fatalities in Suez, Morayef said. The unrest has paralyzed daily life in Egypt. Many essential supplies are running low, said Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch emergencies director. Gas stations throughout Cairo and Alexandria were closing because they were out of fuel. The amount of goods in shops were low and many were rationing how much food people could buy. The Egyptian stock exchange and banks were closed Monday, and the Moody's ratings agency downgraded debt ratings for the country because of the turmoil. There were long lines in front of bread shops and supermarkets, ATMs and gas stations were closed, and there was a minimal police presence. In one neighborhood of Cairo, however, sanitation workers were seen collecting garbage. In Alexandria, people waited in long lines outside bakeries and supermarkets. Nile TV set up a hotline for citizens to call in and report bread shortages across the country. A private sanitation company was seen collecting trash there, also. Shops and businesses were looted and abandoned police stations were stripped clean of their arsenals. Men with makeshift weapons patrolled neighborhoods, creating checkpoints to fill the void left when police stopped patrolling the streets. The self-appointed defense groups appear to be working closely with the military. There have been reports of prison breaks, and state-run Nile TV said Monday nearly 2,100 escaped inmates had been arrested. Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based news network, said six of its journalists arrested in Cairo earlier Monday have been released, but their camera equipment remains seized. The unrest has prompted evacuations of foreigners. More than 500 Americans have departed on five flights, the State Department said. A team of heavily armed Marine Corps security personnel have been sent to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to provide additional security for the facility, defense officials tell CNN. The dozen or so Marines are part of a Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team. Suez Canal authorities have said operations there are unchanged and the army is in control. However, shipping companies are predicting delays. Soldiers are guarding the pyramids in Giza. Meanwhile, the popular uprising that toppled the Tunisian government before spreading into Algeria, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan and, of course, Egypt, may now be headed for Syria. Opposition movements in Syria are calling for mass protests on Saturday against the rule of President Bashar Al-Assad.

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