Sunday 30 January 2011

Tens of Thousands of Egyptians Rally in Cairo

30/01/2011 Tens of thousands of Egyptian protesters defy police, standing in Cairo’s Tahriri square demanding President Hosni Mubarak to step down in the sixth day of people’s revolution against his regime.

The protesters in Cairo, joined by hundreds of judges, had collected again in Tahrir Square on Sunday afternoon, chanting "Mubarak, Mubarak, the plane awaits".
Media outlets reported that Egyptians fighter jets fly low over the Tahriri square.

Main roads in Cairo have been blocked by military tanks and armored personnel carriers, and large numbers of army personnel have been seen in other cities as well.

The police, who have been involved in violent clashes with protesters in recent days, have largely disappeared from the streets.

There is a heavy military presence in the city, but soldiers are not intervening.
Clashes between protesters and the security forces - mostly riot police - are reported to have left at least 100 people dead across Egypt since rallies began on Tuesday. Thousands have been injured as violence has flared in cities including Cairo, Suez and Alexandria.

In Cairo, many protesters defied an overnight curfew to camp out in Tahrir Square, the focal point of the demonstrations in the city.

OPPOSITION CHARGES BARADEIE TO NEGOTIATE WITH MUBARAK’S REGIME

Opposition groups have charged leading dissident Mohamed ElBaradei with negotiating with embattled Mubarak's regime, an opposition movement leader said.

The National Coalition for Change, which groups several opposition movements including the banned Brotherhood around ElBaradei, has charged the Nobel peace laureate with "negotiating with the authorities," Saad al-Katatni told AFP.

PRISONERS ESCAPE

Meanwhile, a security official said that thousands of inmates have escaped from prisons across Egypt on Sunday.

Thirty-four leaders from the Muslim Brotherhood were freed from the Wadi Natroun jail after guards abandoned their posts.

Several thousand prisoners during the night overwhelmed guards at Wadi Natrun prison north of Cairo -and spilled out into nearby towns and villages.

There were also reports of several prisons across the country being attacked and of fresh protests being staged in cities like Alexandria and Suez.

LOOTING SPREADS

Furthermore, residents in Cairo have set up neighborhood groups armed with guns, clubs and knives as looting spread across the capital, despite the deployment of army troops to restore order.

Witnesses reported gangs of youths, some on motorbikes, roaming the streets, looting supermarkets, shopping malls and shops on Saturday.

Some of the gangs also entered wealthy residential areas of the capital, and gunfire could be heard in the city centre as well as outlying districts.

Residents also said that banks were broken into and hundreds of young men carted away televisions, fans and stereo equipment looted from the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) near the Egyptian Museum, before setting the building alight.

AL-JAZEERA BANNED

On the other hand, the outgoing information minister has ordered the closure of pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera, the official MENA news agency said Sunday.

Anas al-Fikki has "ordered the closure of all activities by Al Jazeera in the Arab republic of Egypt, and the annulment of its licenses, as well as withdrawing the press cards to all its employees as of (Sunday)," MENA said.

Al Jazeera was still broadcasting when the announcement was made.

For its part, al-Jazeera denounced the closure of its Cairo bureau.

It said in a statement: “Al-Jazeera sees this as an act designed to stifle and repress the freedom of reporting by the network and its journalists. In this time of deep turmoil and unrest in Egyptian society it is imperative that voices from all sides be heard; the closing of our bureau by the Egyptian government is aimed at censoring and silencing the voices of the Egyptian people...”

“Al Jazeera Network is appalled at this latest attack by the Egyptian regime to strike at its freedom to report independently on the unprecedented events in Egypt," the channel added.

MUBARAK NAMES VP, PM

On Saturday, Mubarak named military intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman as his first-ever vice president and also a new premier, Ahmed Shafiq.

However, protesters dismissed the moves as too little, too late.

Both men are stalwarts of Egypt's all-powerful military establishment.

Suleiman, 75, is chief of military intelligence and a well-known player on the world scene. He has spearheaded years of Egyptian efforts to encourage an eventual Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and of mediating internal Palestinian disputes.

Shafiq, 69, has often been mooted as a potential successor to Mubarak.

Commenting on Mubarak’s political appointments, ElBaradei said the move was insufficient.

"I tell President Mubarak and his regime to leave Egypt as soon as possible. It will be better for Egypt and for you," he said in remarks to Al-Jazeera television.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

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