| LONDON: French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has admitted he enjoyed a New Year holiday in Egypt sponsored by President Hosni Mubarak. Fillon's office said his family were treated to a free holiday from Dec 26 to Jan 2 in the Nile resort of Aswan, then went on a boat ride on the river, and used an Egyptian government plane for sightseeing, all courtesy to Mubarak, the Telegraph reported here. "The prime minister was lodged during this visit by the Egyptian authorities," the prime minister's office was quoted as saying in a statement. Fillon claimed he admitted to the trip "in the interests of transparency". "The prime minister, again at the invitation of the authorities, used a plane from the Egyptian government fleet to travel from Aswan to Abu Simbel, where he visited a temple," the statement said. Fillon said he had personally paid for his family's flights from France to Aswan on a French government plane. Fillon has a Welsh wife, Penelope, and five children. Only once in Egypt did he accept Mubarak's holiday and excursion offers, his office said. The admission comes amid calls that Michele Alliot-Marie, France's foreign minister, resign over a New Year holiday in Tunisia during which she twice used a private jet owned by a tycoon allegedly close to the country's deposed president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Unlike Alliot-Marie, however, Fillon's trip took place before there was any hint of anti-government unrest and there was an official side to it, as he met Mubarak in Aswan for 90 minutes Dec 30. The Egyptian president has been facing mass unrest in his country for the past 16 days. The agitation which began across Egypt Jan 25 is believed to have been triggered by a similar uprising in Tunisia where nearly a month-long demonstrations led to the ouster of Ben Ali. Thousands of protesters have gathered at the Egyptian capital Cairo's Tahrir Square demanding immediate ouster of the 82-year-old leader who is in power for three decades. The latest revelations sparked outrage among the French opposition, who accused the government of being guests of "Air Ben Ali" and "Air Mubarak". Martine Aubry, the Socialist party leader, said: "Day after day ones sees just how much this government has lost its sense of public spirit". The revelation is hugely embarrassing for Fillon, who last year ordered government ministers to "prefer the train and commercial flights" whenever possible. Egyptian labour unions have gone on a nationwide strike, adding momentum to pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo and other cities. Al Jazeera correspondents, reporting from Egypt, said around 20,000 factory workers stayed away from work on Wednesday. Al Jazeera's Shirine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said that some workers "didn't have a political demand". "They were saying that they want better salaries, they want an end to the disparity in the pay, and they want the 15 per cent increase in pay that was promised to them by the state." However, Tadros also said that some workers were calling for Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, to step down. The strike action came as public rallies calling for Mubarak to immediately hand over power entered their 16th day. Determined protesters are continuing to rally in Cairo's Tahrir (Liberation) Square, and other cities across the country. They say they will not end the protests until Mubarak, who has been at the country's helm since 1981, steps down. Protesters with blankets gathered outside the parliament building in Cairo on Wednesday, with no plan to move, our correspondent reported. The demonstrators have put up a sign that reads: "Closed until the fall of the regime".
She said people in Tahrir Square were angered by a visit from Tamer Hosni, a famous Arab pop star, on Wednesday morning. Hosni previously made statements telling the demonstrators to leave the square, saying that Mubarak had offered them concessions. "His comments really did not go down very well," our correspondent said. The crowd reacted angrily and the military had to intervene to keep them away from him. "People feel very strongly here," Al Jazeera's Dekker said. Another Al Jazeera correspondent, reporting from Cairo, said there was also a renewed international element to the demonstrations, with Egyptians from abroad returning to join the pro-democracy camp. There is even an internet campaign aimed at mobilising thousands of expatriates to return and support the uprising, our correspondent said. Protesters are "more emboldened by the day and more determined by the day", Ahmad Salah, an Egyptian activist, told Al Jazeera from Cairo on Wednesday. "This is a growing movement, it's not shrinking." Concessions fall short Mubarak's message has thus far been that he will not leave until his term expires in September. As a gesture of goodwill, however, 34 political prisoners, including members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood opposition group, were reportedly released over the past two days. Dekker, our correspondent, reported that there are still an unknown number of people missing, including activists thought to be detained during the recent unrest, while Human Rights Watch reported that the death toll has reached 302 since January 28. Egypt's health ministry denied the figures, however, saying that official statistics would be released shortly.
Suleiman said there will be "no ending of the regime" and no immediate departure for Mubarak, the state news agency MENA reported from a meeting between the vice-president and independent newspapers. At one point in the roundtable meeting, he warned that the alternative to dialogue "is that a coup happens, which would mean uncalculated and hasty steps, including lots of irrationalities". When pressed by news editors to explain the comment, he said he did not mean a military coup but that "a force that is unprepared for rule" could overturn state institutions, said Amr Khafagi, editor-in-chief of the privately owned Shorouk daily, who attended the briefing. Response to Suleiman's statements was grim. "He is threatening to impose martial law, which means everybody in the square will be smashed," said Abdul-Rahman Samir, a spokesman for a coalition of the five main youth groups behind protests in Tahrir Square. "But what would he do with the rest of the 70 million Egyptians who will follow us afterward." Earlier on Tuesday, Suleiman said a plan was in place for the peaceful transfer of power, which included forming three committees - one to propose constitutional amendments, another to oversee the implementation of the amendments and a third to investigate the violent clashes of February 2. | |||
In 1985 as a teenager in Kenya, I was an adamant member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Seventeen years later, in 2002, I took part in a political campaign to win votes for the conservative party in the Netherlands. Those two experiences gave me some insights that I think are relevant to the current crisis in Egypt. They lead me to believe it is highly likely but not inevitable that the Muslim Brotherhood will win the elections to be held in Egypt this coming September.
As a participant in an election campaign, I learned a few basic lessons.
- The party must have a political program all members commit to with a vision of how to govern the country until the next election. Dissent within the party is a sure way of losing elections.
- Candidates must articulate not only what they will do for the country but also why the other party's program will be catastrophic for the nation.
- The party has to be embedded in as many communities as possible, regardless of social class, religion or even political views.
- Candidates must constantly remind potential voters of their party's record of success and the opponent's record of failure.
The secular democratic and human rights groups in Egypt and in the rest of the Arab world show little sign of understanding these facts of political life. The Muslim Brotherhood, on the other hand, gets at least three out of four. True, they have never been in office. But they have a political program and a vision not only until the next elections, but in their view until the Hereafter. And they are very good at reminding Egyptians of why the other party's policies will be ungodly and therefore catastrophic for Egypt. Above all, they have succeeded in embedding themselves in Egyptian society in ways that could prove crucial.
When I was 15-years-old and considered myself a member of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, there were secular political groups in the diasporas of Pakistanis, Yemenis and Somalis in Nairobi who lived in exile like my family. These loosely organized groups had vague plans for restoring their respective countries and building them into peaceful, prosperous nations. These were dreams they never realized.
The Muslim Brotherhood did more than dream. With the help of money from Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich countries, they established cells in my school and functioning institutions in my neighborhood. There were extracurricular activities for students. There were prayer and chant hours, as well as communal Quran readings. We were encouraged to become volunteers, to help the indigent, to spread Allah's message. There were classes and activities for all age groups. They established charities to which we could give Zakat (tithe for charity), which was then used to provide health and educational centers.
The Brotherhood also provided the only functioning banking networks, based on trust. They rescued teenagers from lives of drug addiction and excited them about a purposeful future for justice. Each of us was expected to recruit more people for the Muslim Brotherhood, creating a perpetual campaign. The mosques and Muslim centers were the main areas of association, but they visited us at home too. Most importantly, their message transcended ethnicity, social class and even educational levels.
It is true that the movement was violent, but we tend to underestimate in the West the Brotherhood's ability to adapt to reality and implement lessons learned. One such adaptation is the ongoing debate within the network on the use of violence. There are two schools of thought within the network, and both of them invoke the Prophet Mohammed as an example.
Those who want instant Jihad hark back to the time when the Prophet had small armies that defeated massive ones, as in the battles of Badr and Uhud. The nonviolent branch of the Brotherhood emphasizes the Prophet's perseverance and patience. They emphasize Da'wa (persuasion through preaching and by example) and above all a gradual multi-generational process in coming to power and holding on to it. Above all, they argue for Taqiyyah, a strategy to collaborate with your enemies until the time is ripe to defeat them or convert them to Islam.
Why are the secular democratic forces in Egypt so much weaker than the Muslim Brotherhood? There are a number of factors. One reason is that they are an amalgam of very diverse elements: There are tribal leaders, free-market liberals, socialists, hard-core Marxists and human rights activists. In other words, they lack common ideological glue comparable to the one that the Brotherhood has. Finally, there is a deep-seated fear that opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood, whose aim is to install Sharia once they come to power, will be seen by the masses as a rejection of Islam altogether.
What the secular groups fail to do is to come up with a message of opposition that says "yes" to Islam, but "no" to Sharia -- in other words, a campaign that emphasizes a separation of religion from politics. For Egypt and other Arab nations to escape the tragedy of either tyranny or Sharia, there has to be a third way that separates religion from politics while establishing a representative government, the rule of law, and conditions friendly to trade, investment and employment.
The bravery of the secular groups that have now unified behind Mohamed ElBaradei cannot be doubted. They have taken the world by surprise, by mounting a successful protest against a tyrant. Mubarak may be deaf, but the message is loud and clear: He has to go.
The secular democrats' next challenge is the Brotherhood. They must waste no time in persuading the Egyptian electorate why a Sharia-based government would be bad for them. Unlike the Iranians in 1979, the Egyptians have before them the example of a people who opted for Sharia -- the Iranians of 1979 -- and who have lived to regret it.
The 2009 Green Movement in Iran was not a "no" to a strongman, but a "no" to Sharia. ElBaradei and his supporters must spell out over and over again that a Sharia-based regime is repressive at home and aggressive abroad. Moreover, as the masses cry out against unemployment, rising food prices and corruption, Egypt's secular groups must show that a Sharia-based government would exacerbate these agonies.
The Muslim Brotherhood will insist that a vote for them is a vote for Allah's law. But the positions of power in government will not be filled by God and his angels. These positions will be filled by men so arrogant as to put themselves in the position of Allah. And as the Iranians of 2009 have learned to their cost, it is harder to vote such men out of office than to vote them in.
The Obama administration can help the secular groups with the resources and the skills necessary to organize, campaign and to establish competing economic and civil institutions so that they can defeat the Muslim Brotherhood at the ballot box. As I have come to learn over the years, few things in democratic politics are inevitable. But without effective organization, the secular, democratic forces that have swept one tyranny aside could easily succumb to another.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is the author of "Nomad" and "Infidel." She is a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute and founder of the AHA Foundation, which works to protect the rights of Muslim women.
Egypt's anti-government activists called on supporters Wednesday to expand their demonstrations in defiance of the vice president's warning that protests calling for President Hosni Mubarak's ouster would not be tolerated for much longer. (Scroll down for live updates.)
Vice President Omar Suleiman, who is managing the crisis, raised the prospect of a new crackdown on protesters Tuesday when he told Egyptian newspaper editors there could be a "coup" unless demonstrators agree to enter negotiations. The protesters insist they won't talk before Mubarak steps down, which the president is refusing to do.
"He is threatening to impose martial law, which means everybody in the square will be smashed," said Abdul-Rahman Samir, a spokesman for a coalition of the five main youth groups behind protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square. "But what would he do with the rest of the 70 million Egyptians who will follow us afterward."
Suleiman is creating "a disastrous scenario," Samir said. "We are striking and we will protest and we will not negotiate until Mubarak steps down. Whoever wants to threaten us, then let them do so," he added.
For the first time, protesters were calling forcefully Wednesday for labor strikes after Suleiman warned that calls by some protesters for a campaign of civil disobedience are "very dangerous for society and we can't put up with this at all."
The vice president's warnings were the latest in a series of confused messages from the government to the protesters. Officials have made a series of pledges not to attack, harass or arrest the activists in recent days, followed by Suleiman's thinly veiled threat of a new crackdown.
"We can't bear this for a long time," he said of the Tahrir protests. "There must be an end to this crisis as soon as possible." He said the regime wants to resolve the crisis through dialogue, warning: "We don't want to deal with Egyptian society with police tools."
He also warned of chaos if the situation continued, speaking of "the dark bats of the night emerging to terrorize the people." If dialogue is not successful, he said, the alternative is "that a coup happens, which would mean uncalculated and hasty steps, including lots of irrationalities."
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Today 2:57 AM Wael Ghonim: It Is No Longer The Time To Negotiate
Wael Ghonim spoke with CNN today about the demands of the Egyptian protesters. Ghonim says that when the protesters took to the streets on January 25, they were ready to negotiate with the government, but he says that now that the police have responded with violence, the time to negotiate is over. He also stated that he was "ready to die" for the cause.
Watch him here:
You can read more about Ghonim here.
Today 2:49 AM Labor Strikes Aid The Protests
Al Jazeera has more on the reports of labor strikes taking place across the county, reporting:
Egyptian labour unions have gone on a nationwide strike, adding momentum to pro-democracy demonstrations in Cairo and other cities.Al Jazeera correspondents, reporting from Egypt, said around 20,000 factory workers stayed away from work on Wednesday.Al Jazeera's Shirine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said that some workers "didn't have a political demand"."They were saying that they want better salaries, they want an end to the disparity in the pay, and they want the 15 per cent increase in pay that was promised to them by the state."However, Tadros also said that some workers were calling for Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, to step down.
Read more here.
Today 2:20 AM Women In Tahrir Square
Amnesty International has a report on the women who have been protesting Egypt. The report states:
One of the most inspiring sights seen in Tahrir Square this eventful February have been groups of Egyptian women who have braved riots and intimidation by pro-Government forces to join the protests.At a time, when fundamentalist forces in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan are trying to drive women out of the public sphere, the actions of Egyptian women demonstrate the vitality of women striving for a political voice.Even while human rights groups have reported casualties as high as 300 and protesters gathered in the square have suffered everything from being charged by horses to being shelled by tear gas and live ammunition, Egyptian women have remained visible and refused to be intimidated.
You can read the whole report here.
Today 1:46 AM ANOTHER Video Of Car Hitting Protesters
Another video has been released showing Egyptian protesters being run down by a car. A previous video showed a similar shocking scene in Cairo.
Today 1:10 AM Facebooking The Revolution
The New York Times provides a look at some of the young Egyptians guiding the protests. These young people realize they could be jailed and tortured if the protests fail.
Today 1:04 AM Activist Reports Police Asked To 'Fire Live Bullets'
Recently freed activist and Google executive Wael Ghonim tweets:
 | @ Ghonim : An officer just called me to tell me: I escaped from the service after ElAdly asked us to fire live bullets randomly on protesters. #Jan25 |
02/09/2011 11:33 PM Schools Closed
CNN's Ben Wedemen reports:
 | @ bencnn : #Egypt schools and universities to remain closed next week-midterm break extended. #Egypt #Jan25 #Tahrir |
02/09/2011 11:25 PM Iran Limits Egypt Protests
The L.A. Times is reporting that Iranian authorities are cracking down on opposition leaders trying to claim solidarity with the Egyptian protesters. Reports the Times:
Iranian authorities and the opposition continue to battle over the legacy of Tahrir Square, with both sides claiming an affinity with the popular protest movements in Egypt and around the region.The Iranian judiciary on Wednesday rejected a request by opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karubi to hold a rally Monday in support of the antigovernment uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, the Iranian Labor News Agency reported."If an individual truly shares the brave Egyptians and Tunisians motivation, then he will participate in the rally to be held on [Friday], the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution's victory, along with the government and the nation," said Iranian Judiciary Spokesman Gholamhoseyn Ezhe'i.
Read the rest here.
02/09/2011 9:53 PM 3 Dead South Of Cairo
The AFP is reporting deaths outside of Cairo, writing:
At least three people died and 100 were wounded in two days of clashes between police and political demonstrators in a town in southern Egypt's New Valley region, a security official told AFP on Wednesday.Police fired live rounds Tuesday when local people rioted in the oasis town of El Khargo, more than 400 kilometres (240 miles) south of Cairo, the official said.
02/09/2011 9:25 PM 'Mr. Suleiman’s Empty Promises'
The New York Times has an op-ed today criticizing Vice President Suleiman and calling for the Obama administration to "regain its voice." The editors write:
Mr. Suleiman may talk sweetly to Washington and Brussels. But he appears far more interested in maintaining as much of the old repressive order as he can get away with. That is unacceptable to Egypt’s people, and it should be unacceptable to Egypt’s Western supporters.President Obama said the right things last week when he demanded that democratic change in Egypt start “now.” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent statements that change would “take some time” have taken the pressure off. Mr. Obama needs to regain his voice and press Mr. Suleiman to either begin a serious process of reform or get out of the way.
You can read the entire thing here.
02/09/2011 8:32 PM Muslim Brotherhood: We Won't Field A Presidential Candidate
CNN is reporting that the Muslim Brotherhood isn't trying to put any of their ranks on the presidential ballot, though they do support a democratic transition in Egypt:
"The Muslim Brotherhood are not seeking power," Mohammed Morsi, a member of the group's media office, said at a news conference. "We want to participate, not to dominate. We will not have a presidential candidate, we want to participate and help, we are not seeking power."The Islamist umbrella group also sought to dispel fears that it would push for an Islamic state in a post-Hosni Mubarak era.
02/09/2011 8:25 PM Egypt Paid For French Prime Minister's Vacation
PARIS (AP) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy has urged government ministers to vacation in France, after his own prime minister came under fire for taking a family holiday paid for by Egypt's government.
Sarkozy says ministers seeking to take holidays paid by foreign governments will now need approval - from the prime minister.
Sarkozy's statement Wednesday came after Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Tuesday that the Egyptian government offered his family a Christmas vacation. The trip came weeks before the outbreak of ongoing, anti-government protests in Egypt.
Another French minister, Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, has acknowledged vacationing in Tunisia during popular protests there in December that toppled the country's long-standing dictator.
02/09/2011 2:59 PM China Police Block Spread Of Egypt News
AFP reports that police in China have been working to squash activists' efforts to distribute news about Egypt:
Activists in Guizhou province tried to hand out information about the demonstrations over the weekend, but police told them this was an "unusual period" and gave them 3,000 yuan ($450) to stop, Chen Xi told AFP.The police paid the money to compensate for losses incurred from the printing costs, and when the activists tried to distribute more information in Guiyang city on Monday, police again barred them from doing so, Chen said.
Read the whole story here.
02/09/2011 1:36 PM Anderson Cooper Rages Against The Egyptian Government
Anderson Cooper savaged the Egyptian government on his Monday show, saying that President Hosni Mubarak's regime has blood on its hands and is lying to the world about its actions. It was his first show after returning from Egypt, where he was covering the protests.
Watch his angry outburst:
02/09/2011 1:03 PM Coptic Christians Fear Less-Friendly Government
McClatchy published a piece on new fears mounting among Egypt's Coptic Christians:
Nadia Guirguis left Egypt 15 years ago for the same reasons her countrymen are protesting today: She wanted a chance at better jobs, more freedoms and a better life.But as tumultuous demonstrations raged in her homeland, the Coptic Christian has become a reluctant supporter of the country's widely disliked dictator.
Full story here.
02/09/2011 1:01 PM White House Scrambles To Regain Message On Egypt
The AP reports on the White House's conflicting messages:
The White House worked aggressively on Tuesday to dispel any notion it was easing pressure on President Hosni Mubarak or abandoning those protesting for freedoms.Much of the White House ire centered on comments made by Frank Wisner, the retired U.S. diplomat who was dispatched by Obama to help nudge Mubarak out of office, but then stunned Obama officials by saying Saturday that Mubarak's continued leadership was critical as Egypt worked through reforms. Obama himself showed his frustration about what Wisner said, officials said privately.
Full story here.
02/09/2011 12:57 PM Egypt's Tourism Bust
NPR reported today about the downfall in Egypt's tourism since the protests began:
The uprising in Egypt has had a devastating effect on the country's tourism industry, one of the main pillars of the Egyptian economy.The Pyramids of Giza are all but deserted.One of the classic spots in Egypt, the pyramid of Khafre in front of the Sphinx, is devoid of tourists; the entrance to the park is shuttered and closed. A watchman padlocks the main gate to the pyramids after letting a utility vehicle out.
Read (and listen to) the full story here.
02/09/2011 12:49 PM Video: Young Egyptian Protesters
Video footage of young protesters discussing the revolution--in English--recently surfaced online. Take a look:
02/09/2011 12:46 PM Egypt Ambassador: Reform Is Near
Egypt's Ambassador to the U.S. Sameh Shoukry visited CNN's "Parker Spitzer" tonight, on which he asserted reform in the region is near.
Watch his appearance here.
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