Friday, February 04, 2011

The U.S. sharpened its criticism of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s regime, condemning violence against protesters and urging the government and the opposition to “immediately” start talks on the handover of power.
Demonstrating broad U.S. concern, lawmakers called on Mubarak to transfer power to an inclusive caretaker government in a draft resolution.

The leaders of France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain also ratcheted up the pressure on Mubarak Thursday, saying that Egypt’s political transition “must start now.” But the U.A.E. foreign minister criticized countries he said were exploiting the protests.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday: “I urge the government and a broad and credible representation of Egypt’s opposition, civil society and political factions to begin immediately serious negotiations on a peaceful and orderly transition.”

She condemned assaults on U.S. journalists covering the chaos in Cairo as concern rose about the possibility of an intensified round of rioting Friday. Clinton said the Egyptian government and army have a clear responsibility to protect those targeted.

The draft Senate resolution, written by Republican John McCain and Democrat John Kerry, does not specifically call on Mubarak to resign, although McCain has said he should step down. Instead, the document, which could soon be approved by the 100-member chamber, calls on Mubarak to immediately begin an “orderly and peaceful transition to a democratic political system.”

President Barack Obama offered prayers that “the violence in Egypt will end and the rights and aspirations of the Egyptian people will be realized.”

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Washington believes elements close to the government or Mubarak’s ruling party were responsible for Wednesday’s widespread violence against protesters. “I don’t know that we have a sense of how far up the chain it went,” Crowley said.

On a wave of violence against journalists, he said: “I don’t think these are random events.” “It could well be this is in anticipation of events tomorrow … we are bracing for a significant increase in the number of demonstrators on the streets and … the real prospects of a confrontation.”

Meanwhile, a joint statement from five European leaders said they are watching the unrest with deep concern and condemned “all those who use or encourage violence, which will only aggravate the political crisis in Egypt.”
The statement – from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero – urged an immediate “quick and orderly transition to a broad-based government.”

Speaking in Madrid, Merkel said Mubarak’s government bears responsibility for ending the attacks and making sure those responsible are arrested and prosecuted. “Millions of Egyptians have raised their voice in the past few days … nobody should think that things can just carry on as they are,” she said. “Instead, there has to be a renewal, there has to be … real change.” Merkel reiterated her call for an immediate dialogue with all opposition forces, saying she already made that clear in a phone call to Mubarak Sunday.

However, U.A.E. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan condemned “the hateful and shameful exploitation by some countries” of the situation in Egypt, in apparent reference to Iran. He said “standing alongside Egypt is an absolute necessity.” “There is no doubt that all of us, as nations, we need to … better connect with the people, but the exploitation of what is happening in Egypt is detestable and shameful,” Nahayan said in Baghdad. – With agencies