Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Egypt VP: Protests must end soon


A day after offering sweeping concessions, Omar Suleiman expresses impatience with burgeoning pro-democracy protests.

"Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian vice-president, warned on Tuesday that his government "can't put up with continued protests" for a long time, as tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square for the sixteenth day in a row.

In a sharply worded statement reflecting the regime's impatience and frustration with the mass demonstrations, the newly appointed Suleiman said the crisis must be ended as soon as possible.

Increasingly the public face of the embattled government, Suleiman said there will be "no ending of the regime" and no immediate departure for President Hosni Mubarak, according to the state news agency MENA, reporting on a meeting between the vice-president and independent newspapers......

Subtle threat

Suleiman reportedly told the editors of the newspapers that the regime wants dialogue to resolve protesters' demands for democratic reform, adding, in a veiled warning, that the government doesn't "want to deal with Egyptian society with police tools."

At one point in the roundtable meeting, Suleiman warned that the alternative to dialogue "is that a coup happens, which would mean uncalculated and hasty steps, including lots of irrationalities. We don't want to reach that point, to protect Egypt."......"

No comments: