mormont Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq apologises for the violence:'There is no excuse to attack peaceful protesters, and I therefore am apologising,' he told Egyptian-owned broadcaster al Hayat.It was the second time Shafiq has apologized this week, having earlier told the country's youth he was sorry that the government did not listen to their calls for change sooner.ETA - also the BBC suggest that the army are losing patience:The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo cites a retired general who has been speaking to tank crews on the square as saying the army was losing patience, and if firing continued from pro-government supporters, it was willing to fire on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brude Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 The soldiers must have orders to not fire under any circumstances, except self defense. I wonder at the reasons for the restraint on the part of the military. Are the generals tacitly supporting Musharif by not ordering their men (who are more likely to side with the anti-Government demonstrators) to do anything? Or are they trying really, really hard to remain a non-political force beholden to whatever civilian government is in place...trying hard to NOT get involved in a coup d'etat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Apparently now the Military has said they will fire on the pro-Mubarak protesters if they resort to violence again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactus Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Can't find a source, but someone said the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain issued a joint statement asking Mubarak to step down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 Can't find a source, but someone said the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain issued a joint statement asking Mubarak to step down.Not quite. They're asking for the transition to start now - a slight difference of emphasis. Diplomatic language. The leaders of France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain on Thursday put pressure on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for a political transition that "must start now."A joint statement from the five European leaders said they are watching the unrest in Egypt with deep concern and condemned "all those who use or encourage violence, which will only aggravate the political crisis in Egypt."The statement from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero urged a "quick and orderly transition to a broad-based government.""That transition process must start now," it said.Quite similar to what the US is saying, I understand - which is 'now means yesterday'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padraig Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Apparently now the Military has said they will fire on the pro-Mubarak protesters if they resort to violence again.If they actually do that, that's a good sign. Yesterday's apparent indifference to violence was a very bad sign.This presumed march tomorrow on the Presidential Palace should be very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 CNN is showing some rock throwing between factions. Nothing like the crowds from yesterday. Did the Army really push back the "pro-Mubarak" demonstrators? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Looks like there is a contact point between the two factions at that on ramp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman of the North Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 How much is a trillion lira these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyanna Stark Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 How much is a trillion lira these days?Google says 1 Turkish lira = 0.39054819 British pounds, so around 40p.More than the Norwegian krona at least :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman of the North Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Google says 1 Turkish lira = 0.39054819 British pounds, so around 40p.More than the Norwegian krona at least :PThey cut 6 zeroes, so 1 trillion proper lira = £390.000. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon AS Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 They cut 6 zeroes,That was, like, 5 years ago. Ancient history, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IheartTesla Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Erdogan’s Cairo Speech: Birthpangs of a New Middle East as Obama’s Cairo Moment fadesI happen to think the Obama administration has done ok so far, if a little slow on the uptake. At leat in public. Their private arm-twisting doesn't seem to have much effect on Mubarak.But I guess now might be the time to up the ante, and maybe take a bit more proactive role. The military ties between the two nations probably means some US general can bend the ear of some high-falutin Egyptian general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tormund Ukrainesbane Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Sovereign debt default in 5, 4, 3, 2...The government is trying to keep the protesters from being able to buy food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Lord of Winterfell Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 But I guess now might be the time to up the ante, and maybe take a bit more proactive role. The military ties between the two nations probably means some US general can bend the ear of some high-falutin Egyptian general.I very strongly suspect that the Egyptian government, including the defense minister and top leadership, have been informed that U.S. military assistance and sales will end if the Egyptian military uses weapons against civilians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrostar Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Terrifying of a police van running over protesters in Tahrir Square.From reading AJE's liveblog, it seems like the military has largely withdrawn. I don't know what's going to happen overnight.Incidentally, these 'pro-Mubarak demonstrators' are somewhat reminiscent of the Basiji in Iran, who cracked down so viciously against the Green movement in the streets of Tehran. But I think it's telling that while they were happy to deputize thugs for use against the Iranian protesters, Egypt has felt the need to have at least some level of plausible deniability with respect to the people beating up the anti-regime protesters in Cairo.It all seems very up in the air for now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrostar Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 AJE is currently broadcasting a live interview with Omar Suleiman. Apparently the police have acted with the utmost integrity. That's a relief for me to hear. All the violence is being perpetrated by 'outside militias with their own agendas'.If you love your country (as an Egyptian), you should go home and wait for the government to do its duties. So I'm guessing everyone will be heading home about now. Nothing more to do, nosirree.I was hoping for at least a bit more conciliatory tone from Suleiman, but he seems to be a mouthpiece for Mubarak at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Relic Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Sulayman is a fucking snake. He gives me the creeps. The guy has been responsible for all kinds of clandestine spying and who knows how many assassinations for years.He really came off that way too. That interview makes it seem like these scumbags aren't going away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon AS Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 Apparently foreign reporters are being targetted very directly by Mubarak supporters, usually accompanied with accusations of espionage. And those of Al Jazeera seem to have it worst. I guess being from a western country still offers some protection to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Relic Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 I guess being from a western country still offers some protection to others.Two members of the Washington Post were arrested in Cairo today. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/02/journalists_in_egypt_arrested.html?hpid=topnews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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