db: Gibbs: America Will Not Take Sides in Egypt

[visionary]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/12/egyptian-army-commits-to-_n_822406.html

A coalition of the organizers called for their massive protest camp entrenched for nearly three weeks in Cairo's central Tahrir Square to end, as a gesture to the military. Still, they called for large-scale demonstrations every Friday to keep up pressure for change. Others in the crowds still in Tahrir, however, insisted the constant protests should continue.

At the same time, the coalition put forward their first cohesive list of demands for the next stage, focussed on ensuring they -- not just the military and members of Mubarak's regime -- have a voice in shaping a new democratic system.

Among their demands: creation of a presidential council, made up of a military representative and two "trusted personalities"; the dissolving of the ruling party-dominated parliament; and the forming of a broad-based unity government and a committee to either amend or rewrite completely the constitution.

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/12/live-blog-feb-13-egypt-protests

12:28am The Egyptian caretaker prime minister Ahmed Shafik announced that Anas El Feki, the minister of Media, has resigned.

[Larry]

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/12/live-blog-feb-13-egypt-protests

12:28am The Egyptian caretaker prime minister Ahmed Shafik announced that Anas El Feki, the minister of Media, has resigned.

to accept a job with Fox News.

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/12/live-blog-feb-13-egypt-protests

7:30am Robert Fisk writes in The Independent about how the Mubarak regime used street children in Cairo as pawns during the uprising:

Children interviewed by The Independent on Sunday, however, have also revealed how Mubarak supporters deliberately brought children to the outskirts of Tahrir Square to throw stones at the pro-democracy supporters, how they persuaded penniless street kids to participate in their pro-Mubarak marches. Swarms of other children forced their way into the square itself because they discovered that the protesters were kind to them, feeding them sandwiches and giving them cigarettes and money."

8:39am Soldiers have moved in among protesters still in Tahrir Square, Reuters reports, as traffic started flowing through the square again this morning.

Protesters chanted "Peacefully, peacefully" as the soldiers moved, and a few resisted the line of troops.

"The army is the backbone of Egypt. Their solution is not to remove us from the square. They must respond to our demands," a protester said over loudspeakers.

9:18am Our correspondent James Bays says there have been some "very small scuffles" as troops tried to get protesters to leave Tahrir Square in Cairo.

"I think it reflects a bigger problem," he says. "The military believes that now Mubarak is out, it's time for stability. But some of the protesters think not enough has been done yet. They don't want to clear that square until the army has handed over to a civilian government."

The military needs to give them some sort of time table and they all need to come to some kind of agreement. Although I don't see a problem with a few protesters sticking around out there just in case, as long as they're being peaceful and not bothering people.

By the way, I've been wondering, do most Christians there go to work on Sunday too?

[Larry]

Part of me is glad that the protesters are still there.

[Seabee1973]

I might be wrong, but haven't we sold military hardware to them?

Is there a country we dont sell military hardware to?

[ACW]

Hmm...

Egypt's military rulers are dissolving the parliament and suspending the constitution, meeting two key demands of pro-democracy protesters.

In their latest communique, the military leadership that took power when President Hosni Mubarak stepped down Friday, said they will run the country for six months, or until presidential and parliament elections can be held.

[Larry]

Is there a country we dont sell military hardware to?

I recall reading, during the Iran-Iraq war, that there were 41 countries selling weapons to those countries.

And that 39 of those 41 countries were selling to both sides.

[SnyderShrugged]

I recall reading, during the Iran-Iraq war, that there were 41 countries selling weapons to those countries.

And that 39 of those 41 countries were selling to both sides.

yet somehow many somehow feel that rejecting that policy for ourselves is a loony idea and fringe.

[Larry]

yet somehow many somehow feel that rejecting that policy for ourselves is a loony idea and fringe.

Damn those loony people and their morals.

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/12/live-blog-feb-13-egypt-protests

1:01pm A couple of hundred people are in Tahrir Square. Some groups chant "The people want you to leave the square" and others respond "We're not leaving".

I didn't realize that cars would be driving through the square. lol

I thought it was just a park or something like that.

1:19pm Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass says eight major artefacts, including two gilded wooden statues of Tutankhamun, were stolen when looters broke into the Egyptian Museum on the "Day of Rage", January 28. Hawass earlier said the heads of two mummies had been ripped off and dozens of pieces damaged.

2:17pm Our correspondent Sherine Tadros took this picture of police protesting outside state TV this morning saying they want better pay and to come back to work

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011213132610927713.html#

The military council announced the move in a statement on state television, adding that it would form a panel to amend the constitution before submitting the changes to a popular referendum.

The announcement came shortly after Egypt's prime minister announced that the cabinet appointed by Mubarak shortly before he stepped down, would stay in place.

Ahmed Shafiq, speaking after his first cabinet meeting since Mubarak left on Friday, said Egypt's caretaker government will remain for the country's transition towards democracy.

He said that security would remain a priority and pledged to fight corruption and restore peace in the country, following 18 days of pro-democracy protests.

"The first priority for this government is to restore security and to facilitate daily life for its citizens," he said. "I guarantee that this [cabinet] will return rights to the people and fight corruption."

But it is "quite clear that the power now rests entirely" with the military council, he said.

"They've taken on the role of the presidency and the prime minister and the other ministers carry out their orders.

"The key point is the military is saying they are only in power for a temporary basis, for six months or they'll go earlier if elections are called before six months.

But our correspondent noted that "one thing that wasn't in that communique that protesters have asked for, was the repeal of emergency laws".

Protest organisers had called for both the dissolution of parliament and the lifting of a 30-year-old state of emergency.

5:20pm Our online producer Evan Hill posted a video from Cairo highlighting scenes from Tahrir Square, showing the people and the army clearing and cleaning the square.

Wael Ghonim wrote on his Twitter feed: @Ghonim "I am in Tahrir square and can't believe the scene. Its amazingly clean! Am proud to be Egyptian #Jan25"

VM1az9PIA_0

[visionary]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/13/egypt.new.protests/index.html?hpt=T1

Egypt's new government on Sunday ordered banks closed for the next two days after protests by National Bank workers apparently drove out the head of the institution.

The chairman of the National Bank of Egypt, Tarek Amer, told employees via e-mail that he submitted his resignation on Sunday, according to a person who received the message.

"I was saddened because I could not enter the bank's building today due to hundreds of protesting employees," the e-mail said, according to a bank employee, who was not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named.

Amer was joined by two of his deputies and the bank's head of human resources, according to the message. It was not clear whether the resignations have been accepted. But Sunday evening, Egyptian state television announced that the country's lenders would be shut down until Wednesday.

The announcement asked employees to consider the national interest in the wake of the revolt that drove longtime President Hosni Mubarak from office on Friday. The military council that took power from Mubarak has urged Egyptians to help bolster the country's economy, which had been paralyzed during the protests.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/13/egypt.revolution/index.html?hpt=T1

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said it would appoint a committee to propose changes to the Constitution, which would then be submitted to voters. The council will have the power to issue new laws during the transition period, according to a communique read on state television.

However, a leading opposition figure said Sunday that the military must explain its plans in more detail or see a resumption of the demonstrations that drove Mubarak from office.

"They need to come out of their headquarters and start talking to the people and tell us what is in store for us," ElBaradei told GPS.

And a prominent Egyptian activist credited with helping spark the revolution warned against taking too long to establish a new representative government.

"Biggest mistake now is to give the Egyptian people too little too slow. Restoring confidence requires a faster pace," Wael Ghonim said on Twitter.

[Larry]

Wondering what's up with the bank. Mubarik tried to withdraw his money?

[visionary]

Wondering what's up with the bank. Mubarik tried to withdraw his money?

The article said that they're closed due to the protests by employees.

"I was saddened because I could not enter the bank's building today due to hundreds of protesting employees," the e-mail said, according to a bank employee, who was not authorized to speak to the media and asked not to be named.

Bank workers complained that members of Mubarak's family put their allies into positions of power at the bank with grossly inflated salaries. But the National Bank's headquarters in Cairo continued to function during Sunday's protests, with disgruntled staff taking turns to work and demonstrate.

There were reports of protests at branches of the Bank of Alexandria and the Bank of Egypt as well.

---------- Post added February-13th-2011 at 11:15 PM ----------

Yemen's been seeing some big protests:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/02/13/yemen.protests/index.html?hpt=T2

Hundreds of anti-government protesters marched toward a presidential palace in Yemen on Sunday, calling for regime change in the Middle Eastern country.

Some of them chanted, "First Mubarak, now Ali," referring to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Hosni Mubarak, who recently resigned as president of Egypt after nearly 30 years in power.

Security forces put up a barbed wire barricade and blocked the protesters' path about two miles from the palace. At that point, the situation intensified as protesters turned away and attempted to reach the palace through side streets.

Clashes between protesters and police were reported by witnesses.

According to Tawakkol Karman, a prominent Yemeni rights activist and president of Women Journalists Without Chains, anti-riot police then "went into the crowd of protesters with batons and tasers," attempting to disperse them. Karman said she and other protesters were hit with sticks and that at least 12 people were arrested.

One of those arrested, human rights lawyer Khaled Al-Anesi, has since been released.

The CNN crew at the scene was surrounded by security officers, who seized the journalists' videotapes.

The clashes, which left a small number of people injured, followed an anti-government protest Friday night in which men armed with knives attacked more than a thousand demonstrators, according to human rights groups.

[thebluefood]

There's a fire burning across the Middle East, and I'm not sure how long it will stay aflame.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

There's a fire burning across the Middle East, and I'm not sure how long it will stay aflame.

Iran is starting up again I think

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/iran-opposition-demonstrations-government-warnings

Activists in Iran will go ahead with a banned rally in central Tehran on Monday in defiance of warnings by the regime and a heavy security presence, a figure in the green movement has told the Guardian.

Ardeshir Amir-Arjomand, a spokesman for the former presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, accused the government of hypocrisy in voicing support for protest in Egypt and Tunisia while refusing to allow a peaceful demonstration at home.

"Our dictators in Tehran are ruling the country with terror and panic," he said. "They are afraid of their own people. They only sanction whatever pleases themselves, and disapprove of anything that is not under their surveillance. The call for renewed street protest in Iran is a clear sign that the green movement is still alive, and that's why they're afraid of it."

[visionary]

Iran is starting up again I think

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/iran-opposition-demonstrations-government-warnings

Activists in Iran will go ahead with a banned rally in central Tehran on Monday in defiance of warnings by the regime and a heavy security presence, a figure in the green movement has told the Guardian.

Ardeshir Amir-Arjomand, a spokesman for the former presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, accused the government of hypocrisy in voicing support for protest in Egypt and Tunisia while refusing to allow a peaceful demonstration at home.

"Our dictators in Tehran are ruling the country with terror and panic," he said. "They are afraid of their own people. They only sanction whatever pleases themselves, and disapprove of anything that is not under their surveillance. The call for renewed street protest in Iran is a clear sign that the green movement is still alive, and that's why they're afraid of it."

I've been waiting to see some news on Iran, but can't find much.

I think some of the leaders are still under house arrest.

Iran's also been executing a lot of people I believe.

Between that and all the horrible things that went on in prisons before, I wonder how many are willing to go through with it again.

[visionary]

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/20112148175219570.html

Algeria 'to lift emergency laws'

Foreign minister says 19-year-old emergency will end "within days" amid calls for more protests against government.

The Algerian government has said it will end its 19-year-old state of emergency "within days".

Mourad Medelci. the foreign minister, made the announcement on Monday, echoing a similar promise made by Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the president, earlier this month.

"In the coming days, we will talk about it as if it was a thing of the past," Medelci told French rmedia.

Weekly protests

Opposition groups have also announced they will follow up the protests held this weekend by calling a demonstration in Algiers, the capital, every Saturday.

"We will continue to march until the regime steps down. Each Saturday we will maintain the pressure," Mohsen Belabes, a spokesman for the RCD opposition party which helped organised the demonstrations, said.

Elias Filali, an Algerian blogger and activist, quoted Ali Yahia Abdennour, a senior figure and human right activist, as saying: "We should continue protesting every Saturday in the same square, we will gather momentum as we progress we want our dignity back.

"Yesterday the police has brutally beaten many protesters amongst them a pregnant women, old ladies, a journalist, young men and women, we should carry on protesting until we get our rights."

[visionary]

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121412571299951.html

Clashes reported in Iran protests

Thousands of demonstrators were marching on Monday on Enghelab and Azadi streets [which connect and create a straight path through the city centre], with a heavy presence in Enghelab Square and Vali-Asr Street, according to these reports.

Several clashes have been reported on Twitter, the micro-blogging site, with claims of some demonstrators being teargassed and others beaten and arrested.

Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari, in Tehran, confirmed reports that security forces used tear gas, pepper spray and batons against the protesters.

She said up to 10,000 security forces had been deployed to prevent protesters from gathering at Azadi Square, where the marches, originating from various points in Tehran, were expected to converge.

The AFP news agency reported that police fired paintball bullets on protesters. One video, posted on Youtube (claiming to be from Monday's protests) shows people chanting, "political prisoners must be freed" when a woman cries that tear gas has been deployed, dispersing the crowd.

On the Facebook page used to organise Monday's marches, there were also reports of shooting in or around Enghelab Square as well as demonstrations in the cities of Mashhad, Shiraz and Kermanshah.

Cashes between police and demonstrators,

resulting in dozens of arrests, have also taken place in Isfahan, the country's third largest city.

Also posted on Twitter and Facebook were reports that Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife, Zahrah Rahnavard, had joined one of the marches.

The other prominent opposition leader, Mehdi Karroubi, is still under house arrest.

Al Jazeera was unable to confirm whether Mousavi and Rahnavard joined the protest, and at last report, Kaleme.com, a pro-reformist website, said that security forces had prevented the couple from leaving their home.

As night fell in Iran, the BBC reported that city lights were being turned off and that security forces were attacking protesters in the dark.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

GO IRAN!!!!!!!

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/13/live-blog-feb-14-egypt

10:54am Google executive Wael Ghonim and blogger Amr Salamahey, two of the activists who organised the protests, say the military council has vowed to rewrite the constitution within 10 days and put it to a referendum within two months.

12:53pm Hundreds of police in uniform and plainclothes march in Tahrir Square to show solidarity with protesters who toppled Hosni Mubarak, Reuters reports. Waving Egyptian flags, the police demonstrators shouted "We and the people are one" and said they wanted to "honour the martyrs of the revolution".

1:20pm Hundreds of people have gathered in Tahrir Square, most of them protesting against the police.

2:40pm Protests have halted traffic in Tahrir. We're not able to transmit any live pictures because the army has ordered us and other international media outlets to stop filming in the square.

3:08pm Military police are separating groups of demonstrating policemen and anti-police protesters in Tahrir.

On Al Jazeera tv they have also been reporting that the military have made promises to reshuffle the cabinet in the next few days and bring in civilians from the opposition protesters to replace people.

[JMS]

I would like to give the United States some high marks here for both supporting democracy and finding a way to do so through an orderly process.

I would like to give a list of such revolutions/uprisings where different former Presidents have also allowed change to occur, sometimes even when it negatively effected our interests...

The greatest such event was Truman and China. Our Ally from WWII Chiang Kai-shek was forced out and replaced by the Red Communists. Truman the man who lost china, allowed it to occur and did not commit US forces to stop it, even though we had forces in the region to commit at the end of WWII.

Then of coarse there was Jimmy Carter in Iran. He could have continued to back the Shah, but rather allowed the revolution to run it's coarse and the Shah to be deposed.

Ronald Reagan faced such a revolt in the Philipeans when Marcos was deposed in favor of Democracy. Reagan let the demonstrations occur for nearly a year before siding with democracy.

Bill Clinton faced such a revolt in Indonesia and again allowed the protests to go on for nearly a year before deciding which side of the fense we were on. We again sided with democracy.

George Bush Jr in Iraq, again sided with Democracy even though it didn't seem to be in our interest to do so.

[Larry]

The greatest such event was Truman and China. Our Ally from WWII Chiang Kai-shek was forced out and replaced by the Red Communists. Truman the man who lost china, allowed it to occur and did not commit US forces to stop it, even though we had forces in the region to commit at the end of WWII.

Do you really want to bast Truman for failing to commit the US military to the mission of pacifying every civilian in China?

[jpyaks3]

I would like to give the United States some high marks here for both supporting democracy and finding a way to do so through an orderly process.

I would like to give a list of such revolutions/uprisings where different former Presidents have also allowed change to occur, sometimes even when it negatively effected our interests...

The greatest such event was Truman and China. Our Ally from WWII Chiang Kai-shek was forced out and replaced by the Red Communists. Truman the man who lost china, allowed it to occur and did not commit US forces to stop it, even though we had forces in the region to commit at the end of WWII.

Then of coarse there was Jimmy Carter in Iran. He could have continued to back the Shah, but rather allowed the revolution to run it's coarse and the Shah to be deposed.

Ronald Reagan faced such a revolt in the Philipeans when Marcos was deposed in favor of Democracy. Reagan let the demonstrations occur for nearly a year before siding with democracy.

Bill Clinton faced such a revolt in Indonesia and again allowed the protests to go on for nearly a year before deciding which side of the fense we were on. We again sided with democracy.

George Bush Jr in Iraq, again sided with Democracy even though it didn't seem to be in our interest to do so.

I think it should also be balanced by times that we have clearly not supported Democracy or suppressed it. South and Central America during the Cold War provides plenty of cases. The United States has a very varied record on Democracy and we do support a lot of despots but hopefully this will be a change for the better in American foreign policy regarding supporting autocracy and not pressuring dictators to open up for reform.

[thebluefood]

Iran is starting up again I think

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/iran-opposition-demonstrations-government-warnings

Activists in Iran will go ahead with a banned rally in central Tehran on Monday in defiance of warnings by the regime and a heavy security presence, a figure in the green movement has told the Guardian.

Ardeshir Amir-Arjomand, a spokesman for the former presidential candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, accused the government of hypocrisy in voicing support for protest in Egypt and Tunisia while refusing to allow a peaceful demonstration at home.

"Our dictators in Tehran are ruling the country with terror and panic," he said. "They are afraid of their own people. They only sanction whatever pleases themselves, and disapprove of anything that is not under their surveillance. The call for renewed street protest in Iran is a clear sign that the green movement is still alive, and that's why they're afraid of it."

Yeah, I saw that on the NewsHour today. I really hope they're able to topple their government this time around.