Friday, February 4, 2011

More violence in Egypt ahead of more protests - ABC Online

ELIZABETH JACKSON: To Egypt and analysts are warning that president Hosni Mubarak appears to be gearing up for what could become a "Tiananmen moment."

Journalists and foreigners have been targeted in violent clashes in Cairo and many journalists have reported having their recording gear confiscated. Human rights activists have also been arrested.

Hosni Mubarak has denied that the government has instigated the violence and is blaming the Muslim Brotherhood.

International observers are holding their breath in anticipation of what tomorrow might bring.

Timothy McDonald reports.

(Sound of protesters)

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Sporadic violence continued in Egypt as Hosni Mubarak's supporters and opponents clashed in the streets.

Tempers ran hot, and many were pointing fingers at the president, who has ruled the country for more than three decades.

VOX POP: Mubarak is a terrorist, not us.

VOX POP 2: He is never to be supported by any person of the population. He is a killer.

VOX POP 3: He want to kill all the people.

(Sound of protesters)

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Protester Marwa Sharafeldin says the crowds of anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square have swelled dramatically in response to yesterday's fighting.

She says the protesters believe elements of the ruling party bankrolled yesterday's violence.

MARWA SHARAFELDIN: Even those who listen to Mubarak's last speech, who were starting to have second thoughts, becoming quite compassionate with the president, they have changed their minds after they saw the horrible scenes that we all saw yesterday and the amount of people who were injured and the amount of people who were killed by thugs who, it is increasingly becoming known now, were hired by certain people in the National Democratic Party.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: According to United Nations estimates, more than 300 people have died since the unrest broke out on the 25th of January, with close to 4,000 injured.

While the violence has continued in the streets, some of the government's public statements have been conciliatory. The Egyptian prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, apologised for the deadly clashes and promised an investigation into the violence.

But in an unrecorded interview with the American ABC's Christiane Amanpour, Hosni Mubarak denied any responsibility for the violence and instead blamed the Muslim Brotherhood.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: When I asked about his supporters causing violence against the protesters in the square he told me "I was very unhappy about yesterday. I do not want to see Egyptians fighting each other".

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: He says he's sick of leading the country, but he's staying on because the Muslim Brotherhood would take over if he relinquished power now.

But if the regime has a stick in one hand, it has a carrot in the other. The vice president Omar Suleiman has offered to negotiate with the Muslim Brotherhood.

OMAR SULEIMAN (translated): I have contacted the Muslim Brotherhood. I have invited them but they are still hesitant to enter into dialogue.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: Dr Kamal el-Helbawy is a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood based in London. He says the offer is more of a threat than an opportunity.

KAMAL EL-HELBAWY: They are threatening as well. If you lose this opportunity, there is no other way. So this is a threat. Secondly, the Muslim Brotherhood were banned for many, many years and all the time during the regime of Mubarak for 30 years and now they are in trouble and the revolution is continuous and the people would not like to see only Mubarak departing but the whole regime that was involved.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: As the violence continues, attacks on foreign journalists have also become commonplace.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says there have been 27 attacks on the media.

That list doesn't include an attack on a crew from the ABC's Foreign Correspondent, who were kicked and punched by Mubarak supporters.

ABC Middle East correspondent Ben Knight told Radio National the attacks have been stepped up, with Mubarak supporters and officials harassing journalists in their hotels.

BEN KNIGHT: A group of pro-Mubarak supporters managed to get into that hotel and were looking for foreign journalists. That situation, I understand, ended without too much incident but perhaps what is even more worrying since then is that the state authorities have been going around to the hotels. One journalist has reported the authorities burst into his room, six of them, went straight out to the balcony looking for broadcast equipment, didn't find it and then came back in.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: The US as well as several European countries have labelled the attacks completely unacceptable.

The Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has also added his voice to the chorus of condemnation.

KEVIN RUDD: This behaviour is simply unacceptable to the Australian Government, to governments throughout Europe, for governments throughout the world and it must stop.

TIMOTHY MCDONALD: The situation in Egypt is still very tense, as protesters gather for another huge March tomorrow and the protests could have ripple effect throughout the Middle East.

The Jordanian King sacked his government earlier this week after protests there, and yesterday's violence has also touched off protests in Yemen.

ELIZABETH JACKSON: Timothy McDonald with that report.


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