الجمعة، 4 فبراير 2011

Obama: 'Future of Egypt will be determined by its people

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President Barack Obama on Friday appealed to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to focus on his legacy and begin an orderly process to relinquish the power he has held for 30 years. But Obama stopped short of calling for Mubarak's immediate resignation"My hope is he will end up making the right decision," Obama said at the White House. He commented at a brief news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper following a day of meetingsHis term is up relatively shortly," the president noted. "The key question he should ask himself is, how does he leave a meaningful legacy behindAfter a week and a half of deadly street protests in Cairo calling for Mubarak's ouster, Obama said that discussions have begun in Egypt on a turnover of the governmentWe want to see this moment of turmoil turned into a moment of opportunity. The world is watching," Obama saidThe president said he was encouraged with the restraint shown Friday after some violent exchanges the day before, and he repeated that the U.S. opposes violence by either the government or the protestersThis is obviously still a fluid situation, and we're monitoring it closely," Obama saidEgyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq confirmed Mubarak's intentions to remain in office until in September, Egyptianreported"We as civilized people must honor the president, who did a good job regardless of mistakes here and there,said Ahmed Shafiq on Egyptian statewhich was translatedToday the Egyptian people see that the president will not step down

Checkpoints and children 

Tens of thousands packed central Cairo Friday, waving flags and singing the national anthem, emboldened in their campaign to oust Mubarak after they repelled pro-regime attackers in two days of bloody street fights. The government relaxed a capital curfew, which runs from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. instead of 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., according to media reports
Thousands including families with children flowed over bridges across the Nile into Tahrir Square, a sign the movement was not intimidated after fending off everything thrown by Mubarak supporters — storms of hurled concrete, metal rebar and firebombs, fighters on horses and camels and automatic gunfire barrages.
The protesters passed through a series of beefed-up checkpoints by the military and the protesters themselves guarding the square
Protesters in the square held up signs reading "Now!" in a rally that drew around 100,000 — the largest gathering since the quarter-million who turned out on Tuesday. They labeled the demonstration the "Friday of departure," in hopes it would be the day that Mubarak goes

Thousands prostrated themselves during noon prayers, and after uttering the prayer's concluding words "God's peace and blessings be upon you" they began chanting their message to Mubarak: "Leave! Leave! Leave!" A man sitting in a wheelchair was lifted — wheelchair and all — over the heads of the crowd and he pumped his arms in the air


Gangs of thugs' 

The Arabic news a "gang of thugs" stormed its offices in continuation of attacks on journalists by regime supporters that erupted Thursday. It said the attackers burned the office and damaged equipmentThe editor of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood's website policemen stormed its office Friday morning and arrested 10 to 15 of its journalists. Also clashes with sticks and fists between pro- and anti-government demonstrators erupted in two towns in southern Egypt

The ruling National Democratic Party, accused by protesters of being behind the gangs of thugs who attacked them, issued a call on state media for its supporters to "adhere to a truce and not enter confrontations with others." It denied it had any role in Wednesday's attack on the square. Protesters accuse the regime of orchestrating the violence by using police in civilian clothes and paid thugs

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