Mubarak unlikely to step down soon: Clinton - Hindustan Times

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak might not be able to quit his post as early as being demanded by the protesters as the transition process will take some time to roll out. Clinton described Mubarak's assurance of not running for the presidency again and the dialogue on constitutional reform initiated in the country as "significant actions" but said if Mubarak resigns immediately, presidential election would have to be held in 60 days under the Egyptian constitution.

"He (Mubarak) announced he wouldn't run again. He announced his son wouldn't run again. He announced he was resigning his position of the national party, and his son was resigning his position at the national party.

He installed a vice president for the first time in 30 years. Those are significant actions," Clinton told reporters on her way back from international talks on Egypt in Germany.

She said these were only preliminary steps and do not constitute an orderly transition but welcomed the process of dialogue that has started with the opposition. "... but I think they have to be viewed as a very important set of steps being taken to keep the movement going in the direction that we seek," she said.

Referring to the Egyptian constitution, she said if the President were to resign, he would be succeeded by the Speaker of the house and presidential elections would have to be held in 60 days, and suggested that this is too short a time to arrive at final constitutional reforms.

"Now, the Egyptians are the ones who are having to grapple with the reality of what they must do. And maybe I misheard it, but on CNN this morning... one of the leaders in the Muslim Brotherhood, and Al-Baradei, they were saying, 'Well, it's going to take time.

Now, that's not us saying it, it's them saying it," she said. She said once the protests have gotten the attention of the government and the government has launched a response, there is already an effort underway within the civil society, the opposition, the political parties, to decide the future course of action.

"That's a really hard issue. I don't think it's appropriate for us to be sitting thousands of miles away saying, 'Well, this is what you should do, and that's what you should do', and, 'Oh, everybody knows that's self-evident'," Clinton said. She said it is for the country of 80 million people, with a very complex political, economic, and social realities to move ahead in a new direction.

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Clinton puts U.S. focus on Egypt transition - Reuters

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (3L) speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (3R) during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines at the 47th Conference on Security Policy in the hotel 'Bayerischer Hof' in Munich, February 5, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Bundesregierung/Guido Bergmann/Pool

By Andrew Quinn

MUNICH | Sat Feb 5, 2011 7:09pm EST

MUNICH (Reuters) - The United States said on Saturday it backs Egypt's drive for orderly reforms to allow democratic elections in a sign of a new U.S. emphasis on gradual transition to resolve the crisis over President Hosni Mubarak's rule.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton threw her weight behind the reform effort launched by Mubarak's handpicked Vice President, Omar Suleiman, saying the government's fragile dialogue with the opposition must be given time to unfold or risk being derailed by radical forces.

"There are forces at work in any society, and particularly one that is facing these kinds of challenges, that will try to derail or overtake the process to pursue their own specific agenda," Clinton told a security conference in Munich.

"Which is why I think it's important to support the transition process announced by the Egyptian Government, actually headed by now Vice President Omar Suleiman."

Suleiman began meeting independent opposition figures on Saturday to go through various options, including a proposal for him to assume the president's powers for an interim period.

Vice President Joe Biden telephoned Suleiman on Saturday to ask about progress on the transition as well as to express concern over continued attacks on civil groups and detention of journalists, activists and human rights advocates, the White House said in a statement.

"He stressed the need for a concrete reform agenda, a clear timeline, and immediate steps that demonstrate to the public and the opposition that the Egyptian government is committed to reform," the statement said.

In one reform gesture, the leadership of Mubarak's ruling party quit on Saturday following 12 days of protests that have shaken Egypt to its core. But protesters dismissed the move as a ruse that would not deter them from their goal of ousting the president immediately.

U.S. officials said Clinton was not explicitly endorsing a future political role for Suleiman, Mubarak's long-time intelligence chief who is viewed skeptically by many in Egypt's opposition movement.

President Barack Obama himself has urged Mubarak to "make the right decision" and U.S. officials have over the past week indicated they believe his days in power may be numbered.

But Clinton, seeking to place renewed emphasis on the process of political transition, underscored the U.S. view that it will take both time and patience to lay the groundwork for truly democratic new elections to take place.

"Our view is the early discussions are the right thing for the government to have initiated and now the opposition should get involved in them to test the proposition that the government is serious," said one senior U.S. official.

Obama has repeatedly urged Mubarak to begin the transition immediately, and Clinton said she believed that this process was already under way and should be allowed time to mature.

"The principles are very clear, the operational details are very challenging," Clinton said on organizing future elections.

"President Mubarak has announced he will not stand for re-election, nor will his son," she said, noting that the government had also pledged constitutional reforms and allowing greater political participation.

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Middle East faces storm of unrest: Clinton - ABC Online

By London correspondent Rachael Brown

Posted February 6, 2011 13:08:00

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has told an international security summit in Munich that the Middle East faces a "perfect storm of unrest".

Referring to the protests in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, Ms Clinton says a concoction of high unemployment, depleting oil and water reserves, and simmering discontent towards autocratic regimes, threatens global stability.

She has urged Europe to back the United States' push for wide-scale reform, saying incremental steps that do not offer people full freedom will only breed further discontent.

She says transition to democracy can be chaotic but says in the end "free people govern themselves best".

Ms Clinton has also urged international support for the reforms proposed by Egypt's embattled leaders, so extremists do not hijack the country's political transition.

It is a subtle shift in tone from the US administration, which until now has been demanding political transition begin immediately.

Tags: government-and-politics, world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, egypt, germany, tunisia, united-states, yemen

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