Clashes erupt on Egypt’s Tahrir Square, over 100 injured

Russia Today




Thousands of supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi battled for control of Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the recent revolution. Over one hundred protesters are reported injured in the violence.

Supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi fought for control of Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the recent revolution.

Protesters hurled rocks and bottles at each other, fists flew and gunshots were heard during the melee in downtown Cairo on Friday. The ongoing conflict is the first major street fight between liberals and Islamists since Morsi's election in June.

Bel Trew, a Cairo-based journalist, told RT about the chaotic scene unfolding on Tahrir, saying she had “personally witnessed rock throwing, several very heavy head injuries, Molotov [cocktail] throwing; we have heard gunshots, though I can’t confirm that myself as I wasn’t able to see.”

She also said there were small fires by a museum adjacent to the square caused by petrol bombs and fireworks. Trew believes the violence is unlikely to end soon, as “there has been no police presence whatsoever, even though in Morsi’s 100-day plan, he did say that he would up security in the country and reassure people that they wouldn’t see scenes like this.”

The Health Ministry said 110 people had sustained light to moderate injuries, state media reported.

Mounira Public Hospital chief Muhammad Shawky said earlier in the afternoon that his hospital had received at least ten injured protesters, the Egypt Independent reports. One man was hospitalized after receiving a serious eye injury, while nine others were treated for minor wounds and later released. Since then, the number reported injured has continued to increase without any signs of abating.

Eyewitnesses said many of the injured had been pelted with rocks.

Egyptian protesters hold a national flag as they walk past a
 burning bus during clashes in Cairo on October 12, 2012 

Some 2,000 people poured onto the square on Friday after tensions erupted between pro- and anti-Morsi forces when a court acquitted Mubarak-era officials accused of ordering camels to charge against protesters during last year’s uprising.

The February 2011 incident, known as the "Camel Battle," left nearly a dozen people dead. It was one of the bloodiest incidents in the 2011 revolution that toppled the Mubarak regime.

The so-called "Judgement Day” protest on the square had originally been organized by left-leaning activists hoping to draw attention to their disaffection with President Morsi and the Constituent Assembly. Islamists arrived to protest the contentious "Camel Battle" ruling, which saw 25 figures in the Mubarak regime set free.

While all sides to the conflict were united in their opposition to the acquittal, long simmering tensions between the rival parties quickly spilled over.

The coalition of liberals and secular-minded groups was particularly concerned with Islamist control of the body drafting the country's new constitution.

Fighting commenced after Muslim Brotherhood supporters tore down a podium belonging to a group chanting anti-Morsi slogans, AFP reported.

“Down, down with rule by the guide,” Morsi's detractors chanted in reference to Mohammed Badie, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi officially resigned from the Brotherhood upon assuming office, but his opponents believe that he maintains control over the president.

Egyptians inspect a burnt bus which was set on fire
during clashes on Tahrir square in Cairo on October 12, 2012

On Friday Morsi was in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria, where he vowed that the former regime's figures would be held accountable in spite of Wednesday's ruling.

Morsi moved to dismiss the country's prosecutor general – a Mubarak appointee – following the controversial verdict. The prosecutor, Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud refused to resign and accept an offer to be Egypt's envoy to the Vatican.

Add caption

"As long as a majority of people who are setting up the new constitution are Islamists, they will naturally seek to create an Islamist state, and at this stage I don’t see how that could be avoided."

Egyptians help to evacuate a wounded man during clashes of opponents of the
 Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohamed Morsi with government supporters in
Tahrir square in Cairo on October 12, 2012

Anti-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators tackle a Muslim Brotherhood member
and supporter of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi at Tahrir Square, the focal
 point of the Egyptian uprising, in Cairo October 12, 2012 

Pro and anti-Morsi forces clash in Cairo October 12, 2012 

Egyptian protesters killed in Cairo

Guardian
Abdel-Rahman Hussein

Nine dead and 45 wounded as protesters against military rule are set upon by attackers armed with rocks, clubs and firebombs

At least nine protesters have been killed and 45 injured in a dawn attack on protesters gathered outside Egypt's ministry of defence, according to the health officials.

Clashes continued on Wednesday morning between protesters and the unidentified assailants, who threw petrol bombs and fired live ammunition, birdshot and teargas, according to witnesses.

"There is a deluge of blood on the street which extends for many metres. One injured man had his back sliced by the thugs," said Abdelrahman Hany, a rights advocate at the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information organisation who was present when the latest round of attacks began.

Hany said he believed the attackers were linked to the state security apparatus. "How else would they possess teargas to fire at us?" he asked.

Protesters had camped in Tahrir Square for a week before deciding on an impromptu march to the ministry of defence in east Cairo last Friday, where the sit-in resumed.

The sit-in was first attacked on Saturday night, when at least one person was reported killed. That attack comprised nail bombs, birdshots and automatic gunfire and lasted until early on Sunday morning, with no intervention by the military troops present.

Many of the protesters are supporters of Hazem Abu Ismail, an ultraconservative Islamist who was thrown out of the presidential race because his mother held dual Egyptian-US citizenship, which violates electoral rules.

But the sit-in also included members of secular movements such as the unaffiliated Revolutionaries Without Direction, an umbrella group hoping to gather disparate forces with the aim of removing the military junta that has ruled Egypt during the transitional period.

A member of that group, Mohamed Dahaby, accused the interior ministry of hiring the attackers at the behest of the military and said the group was planning a major demonstration near the ministry on Friday. "Next Friday is the end for military rule," he said.

Liberal pro-democracy groups, which were also involved in the protests demanding the army return immediately to the barracks, condemned the attack at the defence ministry.

The 6 April youth movement decried the "massacres" and demanded that the army be held to account for its "crimes committed against the revolution and revolutionaries".

"These practices are a continuation of the cleansing and killing methods which the army council uses to suppress the revolution," the group said in a statement.

New Round of Egyptian Protests – James Corbett on RT

Corbett Report

Egyptian police accused of killing protesters get light sentences

PressTV

A Cairo court has given suspended one-year sentences to 11 policemen accused of killing protesters during last year’s uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

The policemen were accused of killing 22 protesters and injuring 44 others outside a police station in Cairo's Hadaeq al-Qobba neighborhood in one of the deadliest days of the protests on January 28, 2011.

The policemen were guilty of using live ammunition in violation of orders, the court ruling said, adding that “the right of self-defense here is legitimate, but the defendants exceeded that right.”

The ruling, carried by the official news agency MENA, said the people outside the police station were genuine protesters, but they were later infiltrated by a “misled minority” that attacked the police.

The sentence means the policemen will not face prison time.

Families of the dead protesters gathered outside the court and chanted "Death to the murderers!"

Since the ouster of Mubarak last February and coming to power of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, dozens more people have been killed.

Protesters have regularly taken to the streets to denounce the ruling military, accusing it of stifling dissent, stalling on reforms and of human rights violations.

Egypt sentences two Israelis, Ukranian for arms smuggling

alakhbar

Egypt's 'Raymond Davis': Ilan Grapel (a U.S. and Israeli citizen)
had his freedom from an Egyptian prison purchased by the
the release of 25 Egyptiian prisoners from Israeli jails.

Two Israelis and a Ukrainian were sentenced to life in prison by an Egyptian court on Monday on charges of smuggling a machinegun and ammunition across the Israeli border into Egypt, a court source said.

The Ukrainian and one of the Israelis are in Egyptian custody, while the other defendant was tried in absentia.

Security along Egypt's border with Israel, long a conduit for the smuggling of guns and people, was relaxed after the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak following a popular uprising in February 2011, as police presence thinned out across Egypt.

The region has been hit by a number of gas pipeline explosions and cross-border attacks.
According to the court that issued the conviction, the Ukrainian, manager of a tourism company in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, had ordered the weapon from one of the Israeli defendants, the source said.

The other Israeli, who lived in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, brought the weapon into Egypt at the border at Taba in a cross-shaped wooden crate.

The machinegun and ammunition were discovered when the crate was placed on an explosives detection machine. The weapon was the sort used by police in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, investigators said.

The captured Israeli has denied knowing the contents of the crate, while the Ukrainian said he had ordered the weapon for personal protection, the court said.

In June, Egypt arrested an American-Israeli on suspicion he was trying to recruit agents and monitor events in the uprising that toppled Mubarak, an ally of Israel and the United States.

He was released in October in a prisoner swap that included the release of 25 Egyptians held in Israel.
Egyptian officials say limits on troop numbers in Sinai under a 1979 peace treaty with Israel make it harder to secure the mountainous region.

Habib el-Adly Attempts to Blame Deaths of Arab Spring Demonstrators on Hamas

Ahram Online

Ex-Interior Minister Habib el-Adly is currently being tried
for killing demonstrators in Egypt.  He is also implicated
in the Coptic Church Bombing in Alexandria on New Years Eve, 2010.

Ismail Haniya denies claims by Egypt's former interior minister Habib El-Adly that Hamas members killed protesters during January 25 Revolution

The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Ismail Haniya, has denied allegations by Egypt's former interior minister Habib El-Adly that Hamas members entered Egypt during the January 25 Revolution to sow chaos in the country and killed protesters.

El-Adly made the claims – without providing evidence – on the final day of his trial for allegedly ordering the killing of protesters during Egypt's revolution.

Hosni Mubarak, his two sons Gamal and Alaa, and six of El-Adly's aides are also on trial. The judge is due to deliver his verdict on 2 June.

Haniya spoke to journalists on Thursday after meeting Saad El-Katatni, speaker of the People’s Assembly.

“Hamas has never interfered in Egyptian issues, before or after the revolution,” said Haniya.  "During the revolution the Egyptian people presented a model that should be followed throughout the world."
Haniya congratulated Egypt on the success of the revolution and its new democratic system. He described his visit to Egypt's parliament as "historic."

The People’s Assembly is the "assembly of the Egyptian revolution," he added.
Haniya is visiting Egypt with a Hamas delegation to participate in talks with Fatah as part of the Palestinian reconciliation agreement supported by Egypt.

Regime Change in the Russian Federation? Why Washington Wants ‘Finito’ with Vladimir Putin

Global Research
F. William Engdahl

Washington clearly wants ‘finito’ with Russia’s Putin as in basta! or as they said in Egypt last spring, Kefaya--enough!.  Hillary Clinton and friends have apparently decided Russia’s prospective next president, Vladimir Putin, is a major obstacle to their plans. Few however understand why. Russia today, in tandem with China and to a significant degree Iran, form the spine, however shaky, of the only effective global axis of resistance to a world dominated by one sole superpower.

On December 8 several days after election results for Russia’s parliamentary elections were announced, showing a sharp drop in popularity for Prime Minister Putin’s United Russia party, Putin accused the United States and specifically Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of fuelling the Russian opposition protesters and their election protests. Putin stated, “The (US) Secretary of State was quick to evaluate the elections, saying that they are unfair and unjust even before she received materials from the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (the OSCE international election monitors-w.e.) observers.”[1] 

Putin went on to claim that Clinton’s premature comments were the necessary signal to the waiting opposition groups that the US Government would back their protests. Clinton’s comments, the seasoned Russian intelligence pro stated, became a “signal for our activists who began active work with the US Department of State.” [2]

Major western media chose either to downplay the Putin statement or to focus almost entirely on the claims of an emerging Russian opposition movement. A little research shows that, if anything, Putin was downplaying the degree of brazen US Government interference into the political processes of  his country. In this case the country is not Tunisia or Yemen or even Egypt. It is the world’s second nuclear superpower, even if it might still be an economic lesser power. Hillary is playing with thermonuclear fire.
Democracy or something else?

No mistake, Putin is not a world champion practitioner of what most consider democracy. His announcement some months back that he and current President Medvedev had agreed to switch jobs after Russia’s March 4 Presidential vote struck even many Russians as crass power politics and backroom deal-making. That being said, what Washington is doing to interfere with that regime change is more than brazen and interventionist. The same Obama Administration which just signed into law measures effectively ripping to shreds the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution for American citizens[3] is posing as world supreme judge of others’ adherence to what they define as democracy.

Let’s examine closely Putin’s charge of US interference in the election process. If we look, we find openly stated in their August 2011 Annual Report that a Washington-based NGO with the innocuous name, National Endowment for Democracy (NED), is all over the place inside Russia. 

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is financing an International Press Center in Moscow where some 80 international NGOs can hold press briefings on whatever they choose. They fund numerous “youth advocacy” and leadership workshops to “help youth engage in political activism.” In fact, officially they spent more than $2,783,000 in 2010 on dozens of such programs across Russia. Spending for 2011 won’t be published until later in 2012. [4]

Egyptians stage mass rally against army

Al Jazeera

Egyptian activists have gathered in Cairo for a mass protest against the ruling military and its handling of a series of clashes between security forces and demonstrators that killed 17 people and drew international criticism, even as thousands of others demonstrated their support for the army.

Tens of thousands protested in the capital's Tahrir Square, the focal point of protests against the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) after Friday prayers.

Students called for Egyptians to join Friday's protest with a march from Ain Shams University to Tahrir Square. Two students were among those killed in the latest clashes.

"The current predicament we have reached is a result of the army council's reluctance to play its role, its intentional foot-dragging, breaking its obligations and failing over the economy and security, putting the whole country on the edge of a huge crisis," said a statement signed by two dozen parties, youth movements and others calling for Friday's protest.

Violence 'unacceptable'

Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros, reporting from Tahrir Square, said the crowd had been swelling since after the Friday prayers.

“There are also protests in other cities, in Suez and Alexanderia. Lots of different demonstrations, but one clear message: that the SCAF needs to hand over power to civilians," she said.

"They are also saying the recent violent crackdown, specially the violence soldiers used against women, is unacceptable."

The now iconic pictures and videos of a woman protester being dragged and stripped by military forces during bloody clashes that erupted last Friday dominated the media and heightened criticism against the SCAF.

"The women of Egypt are a red line," the protesters in Tahrir chanted. "We either die like them or we get them their rights," followed.

A similar protests was held in Alexandria, Egypt's second city, where several thousand people marched towards an army base chanting slogans against the military. Smaller rallies took place in Suez, Ismailiya and Port Said, witnesses said.

Competing rally

A competing rally of several thousand people gathered in support of the military in another part of Cairo on Friday.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Boycotts ‘Advisory Council’ After Junta Moves to Sideline Parliament

Military Vows to Retain Authority Over Civilian Govt


Anti-War
Jason Ditz

In a statement issued earlier today the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood announced that their political faction, the Freedom and Justice Party, will boycott the “constitutional advisory council” being created by the military junta, a move aimed to protest the junta’s effort to remove drafting the new constitution from parliament.

The junta announced yesterday that they considered the new parliament not to be sufficiently “representative”of the will of the voters, even though the voters actually voted for them, and insisted that instead they would appoint the council themselves to oversee penning the new constitution.

Instead leaders from the military council of rulers say that they will retain exclusive executive authority over the civilian government, and will ensure that the military’s budget, a significant portion of the overall economy of the heavily militarized state, is completely independent of parliamentary oversight.

The Freedom and Justice Party won the largest plurality in the parliament, at least in the first round of voting, and has made their primary goal moving the country out of military control and toward civilian rule.

Amnesty International: US sent Egypt weapons amid crackdown

Mail & Globe

The United States continued to send ammunition to Egypt, even as security forces pressed their violent crackdown on protesters there, Amnesty International said on Wednesday. 


The rights group said one recent shipment arriving in Egypt last month carried at least seven tonnes of chemical irritants and riot control agents such as tear gas, and was destined for the country's Interior Ministry.

Amnesty demanded that all such weapons shipments be halted during the crackdown.

"US arms shipments to Egypt's security forces must be stopped until there is certainty that tear gas and other munitions, weaponry or other equipment aren't linked to bloodshed on Egyptian streets," said Brian Wood of Amnesty International.

Amnesty was strongly critical of the US government's decision to permit the shipments, noting in its statement that "the Egyptian government responded to protests by using excessive and often lethal force".

It added: "It is inconceivable that the US authorities did not know of evidence of widely documented abuses by the Egyptian security forces."

The rights group called for the creation of an international treaty to cover munitions used by law enforcement operations, such as tear gas.

"An effective arms trade treaty, which includes a comprehensive scope and robust national licensing controls, would help ensure that arms exports of the USA and other major arms-transferring countries do not fuel serious human rights abuses," Wood said.

"Even in situations where protesters clash with riot police, it is no license to use excessive force and tear gas recklessly," he said.


Unclear powers
Last month's shipment, by US company Combined Systems, was one of at least three arms deliveries to Egypt since protests against the government of then president Hosni Mubarak erupted in late January.

Mubarak resigned and has been replaced by military rulers who have vowed to hand over power after presidential elections by the end of June next year.

But they have suspended the Constitution, meaning the powers of a caretaker Cabinet and a new Parliament currently being elected, are unclear.

Egypt: First phase of polls for lower House of Parliament concludes

NewsOnAir

In Egypt, the first round of voting for 168 out of 498 member Lower House of Parliament, the People's Assembly, closes today.

The elections for the party list were over last week while the run offs for the 52 out of 56 seats for the Individual List come to close today. The Islamist parties of Muslim Brotherhood and hard-line Salafists have won over 65 per cent votes in this round.

The Election Commission has revised down the turnout from 62 per cent to 52 per cent and said, results from several polling stations would be withheld because of violations.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest winner in the first round of Egypt's elections, has threatened to take to the streets if there is any attempt to manipulate results.

AIR West Asia Correspondent has analyzed the prospects from Round One of elections in Egypt.

The road to seat of power in Cairo is going to be a tough one. The trends from the first round have shown Islamists all set to gain a majority in the new parliament. However the power sharing between the moderate Islamic Brotherhood and hard-line Salafists may not be all that easy.

Islamic Brotherhood has sought to allay the fears among the minorities and liberals that strict Islamic codes will not be enforced and the rule of law will prevail.

The Salafists say the practices prevalent in Islam must be continued and preserved. Skirmishes between their supporters in Southern Assuit province and a few other places reflect the simmering tension.

Liberals and Secular parties along with the young activists at Tahrir Square have yet to come to terms with the outcome of the first round.

The former Arab League Chief Amre Mousa says Egyptians have to accept that democracy is all about numbers.

The another Presidential hopeful and former IAEA Chief Mohammad Elbardeii rues what he calls the decimation of liberal and secular forces so far. Whatever be the outcome, people's power is on full display in these elections in Egypt.

Exclusive Video: Protesters in Cairo Fight Back

Editor's Note:  U.S. military crackdown on the occupy movement sends a message to Cairo.  We should hear the message of Cairo's citizens through their reaction to Egypt's military crackdown.



CAIRO, Egypt — Once again, this country is in flames. The protests started on Friday when Egyptians from across the political spectrum rejected the Supreme Council of Armed Forces’ proposed supra-constitutional powers that would deny power from any future elected government. Now, the body count here is at least 31 with reports of more coming in every hour.

In the first half of the clip you can see the Egyptian government’s Central Security Force troops trying to clear protesters from Mohamed Mahmoud Street. This is three blocks east of Tahrir Square, where thousands of Egyptian protesters are sitting in. I shot it on Monday the 21st around 2 p.m.

About half way through the clip you can see several Egyptian protesters throwing Molotov cocktails and stones at the policemen. In the background you can hear the report of gas guns ( 37-mm grenade launchers) and 12-gauge shotguns. As the tear gas smoke thickens, protesters are forced to momentarily retreat down Falaki street.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 28. How many more gas grenades and Molotov cocktails will be launched before then is anyone’s guess.

Army against genuine change in Egypt

PressTV

In Egypt, clashes between police and protesters have left at least three people dead and close to seven hundreds injured.

Egyptian riot police clashed with protesters in the capital Cairo, demanding a speedy transition of power from the ruling military council to a civilian government.

The police used tear gas against thousands of protesters in and around central Cairo's Liberation Square.

The clashes come just over a week before parliamentary elections.

Egypt is set to begin parliamentary elections on Nov. 28. The vote would be the first since Hosni Mubarak's ouster in February.

The voting process could be disrupted if political parties and the military rulers fail to resolve the dispute over the constitutional proposal.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Syed Ali Wasif, with the Society for International Reforms and Research, to share his opinion on this issue.

Following is the text of the interview:

Press TV: What is your assessment of the situation in Egypt right now?

Wasif: Well, there should be one thing which should be remembered regarding Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan that all three countries share one thing and their wanting in common is the British legacy and that legacy is the dominance of the military in the day to day affairs and in the political affairs.

So all three countries especially Egypt at this point, is having the same problem there. It's that subjugation of its people by the military is a day to day affair there. So even after the removal of Hosni Mubarak that situation hasn't changed that much which was expected.

How Egypt Justifies Its Brutal Crackdown: Occupy Wall Street

Gawker

Two people were killed in Cairo and Alexandria this weekend as Egyptian activists took the streets to protest the military's attempts to maintain its grip on power. And guess how the state is justifying its deadly crackdown.

"We saw the firm stance the US took against OWS people & the German govt against green protesters to secure the state," an Egyptian state television anchor said yesterday (as translated by the indispensable Sultan Sooud al Qassemi; bold ours).

Yeah—it gets harder and harder to maintain a moral high ground when videos like this and pictures like this are unavoidable. But American police haven't killed anyone! Indeed! That's definitely something worth bragging about: so far, cops here have only sent a single person to the hospital with brain damage. U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

Meanwhile, in Egypt, the protesters—mostly young liberal activists and Islamists—are engaging in "running street battles" with police after shutting down Cairo's busiest square.

In particular, they're protesting the proposed principles for a new constitution—under which "the military [and its budget] would be exempted from civilian oversight."

Update: Just as we hit "publish" on this post, authorities launched a major assault on Tahrir Square in an attempt to evict it of protesters. Al-Jazeera has a live feed here.

Egyptian military regime slammed for massive repressions

Russia Today

Egyptians are getting ready to mount further mass protests on Friday. Millions are expected to come onto the streets to express their dissatisfaction at the way their country is being run post-Mubarak.
Public anger is accompanied by threats from dozens of political parties to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Do not judge a book by its cover, Egyptians urge overseas observers. When reading “Post-Mubarak Egypt,” look between the lines and you will find that the country’s “new chapter” has not been rewritten, edited, or even slightly revised.

“We still have the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces as the ruling body in this country, and it is constituted of Mubarak’s army generals,” Cairo-based activist and blogger Hossam Hamalawy told RT. “I cannot say that those rulers, in any sense, have been gearing this country towards democracy.”

Mubarak may be gone but his policies are not. And while his case is ongoing at tribunal, new figures from Human Rights Watch claim more civilians – some 12,000 – have been forced to face military trials over the last six months than during the entire 30-year rule of Mubarak.

“On average, civilians are given five to seven years in prison… a lot of torture has occurred since SCAF has come into power,” journalist and activist Gigi Ibrahim explains.

Actor Aly Sobhy does not clown around when it comes to the Supreme Council or SCARF. He has taken part in protests since day one and still has scars from being detained.

“The marks were much worse. I used to have very long hair. They tied me by my hair to a stick and hung me from it. After that I was shocked with a stun gun and beaten with a bat on the head,” he reveals. “I was released only because I’m well-known. Now I'm not allowed to leave the country for 30 years according to law… If I have to, I will seek asylum, but I want to stay and fight for freedom.”
Like Mubarak, SCAF gets the support it needs to rule Egypt from abroad.

“The aid that we get – the US $1.5 billion a year that Egypt receives from the USA – most of it goes to the Supreme Council, to the army, to SCAF,” Gigi Ibrahim says.

And progress on human rights has come to a stop or even gone into reverse since the “new” regime took over.

“In many human rights areas, it is the same as before January 25, and in others it’s getting worse,” a Cairo-based human rights activist Ramy Raoof told RT.

According to the UK Prime Minister David Cameron, “the Arab Spring is a massive opportunity to spread peace, prosperity, democracy.” But, while the West boasts that the history books will record a change for the better, Egyptians are left reading the writing on the wall.

Read what Tantawi is alleged to have said at Mubarak's trial

Bellingham Herald

Hosni Mubarak on trial.

The following transcript appeared on Egyptian social media sites, which claimed it was testimony by Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the chairman of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, at the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak on charges Mubarak ordered the killing of protesters seeking an end to his rule. The questions were asked by Judge Ahmad Refaat, who had banned coverage of the testimony. There was no official confirmation or denial of the legitimacy of the transcript. McClatchy special correspondent Mohannad Sabry translated.

Q: There was a meeting held on January 22, was the former president informed of what was discussed in the meeting and how it ended?

A: The meeting was headed by the prime minister and I think that he informed the former president.

Q: When the events started on January 25 and until February 11, was there any meeting held between you and the former President Hosni Mubarak?

A: No direct meetings, but on January 28 when we received orders from the president there was communication between us.

Q: What did the president convey during such meetings?

A: Meetings between us were held to know that stance of the armed forces, especially on January 28 when the military was ordered to go down and support the police in fulfilling its duties. There was former planning by the military and this is a drill conducted by the military in case we need to go down with the police. The military goes down to the streets when the police need its help and when they cannot fulfill their duties and when the president orders the head of the military to take such action. The president gave the orders to the head of the military for the forces to go down and protect the important facilities and this is what happened.

Q: Did the former president, defendant Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, give any orders to the Interior Minister Habib el Adly for the police to use force against protesters including the use of birdshot guns and fire arms between January 25 and 28?

A: I have no information about that and I don’t think so.

Q: Did the former president leave the assessment of ways to deal with the situation to the listed defendants?

A: I have no information.

Q: Did you receive reports or know of how the police force operates?

A: This is a police training matter and it concerns them, but I know that dispersing protesters happens without the use of fire.

Q: Did the specialized military department detect the presence of snipers used by the police force during the events?

A: I have no information.

Q: Reports showed several injuries and deaths among protesters who were shot with birdshot bullets that caused injuries and deaths. Did you receive such information and how do you explain it?

A: I don’t have such information. There are several possibilities but I have no information.

Q: Are the police forces solely responsible for the deaths and injuries of protesters?

A: I don’t know what happened.

Q: Can you specify if other elements were involved?

A: It is unconfirmed information but I think that other elements were involved.

Q: What are those elements?

A: It could be criminal elements.

Q: Did you receive any information about the involvement of foreign elements?

A: I don’t have information but it is a possibility.

Q: Generally speaking, does the president take action to keep the safety and security of the nation by issuing orders regarding how to operate?

A: The president could issue orders, of course, it’s his right, but everything is decided in advance and everyone knows their duties.

Q: Who does the president order, in general?

A: The one who executes the orders is known but it is possible that the president gives orders.

Q: Should the recipient of such orders execute them no matter what the consequences are?

A: Of course there is a discussion and if the orders are critical they should discuss it.

Q: Is the former president, defendant Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, considered directly or solely responsible with whoever executed the orders by him regarding dealing with protesters?

A: If he gave the orders to use fire then I think that the responsibility is shared, and I don’t know if he gave such orders or not.

Q: Do you know if the former president knew through his sources that protesters were killed?

A: His aides who briefed him should be questioned about whether he knew or not.

Q: Do you know if the former president was involved in any way to stop the bleeding of the injured?

A: I think he did get involved and gave orders to start an investigation of what happened and the killings and he asked for a report.

Q: Can you firmly specify how responsible the former president is for the events that led to the injuring and killing of protesters?

A: This is the responsibility of the investigative departments.
 
Q: According to your experience, could the interior minister solely decide what measures and procedures and plans should be taken to face protests without informing the president?
 
A: Deciding procedures is planned in advance and known to everyone in the interior ministry, but in all cases he should inform the president of everything regarding the protests. dispersing protests is a normal plan and drill in the interior ministry.

Q: According to what you know, did Habib el Adly decide on his own or with the help of other defendants the measures used to confront the protests that led to injuries and deaths?

A: I don’t know about that.

Q: Suggesting that you knew of what happened in the January 28 protests including the use of live ammunition and using vehicles to run over protesters, do you think the orders of such use of force was taken only by Habib el Adly and his aides?

A: I cannot specify what happened but it is possible that he took such decisions and I don’t know who did and who is responsible for it.

Q: Could you confirm, in a way that leaves no chance for doubt, that the former president does not know anything or have information about the way the police dealt with protesters and that he did not give orders to the first defendant (Habib el Adly) regarding the measures of operating and that he is the delegate to keep the safety of Egypt?

A: I don’t know what happened but I think that the interior minister reports and it is possible that he does not know but I don’t know.

Q: Are there any injuries or deaths among army officers?

A: Yes, there are martyrs.

Q: Did the interior minister cooperate with the armed forces to secure the protests?

A: No.

Q: Were you informed of any lost military ammunition?

A: Nothing was lost but there are some losses and damage to equipment and there is no problem.

Q: Were you informed of the entrance of members of Hamas and Hezbollah through tunnels or other ways to cause instability?

A: This has not happened during the protests and we are resisting such things and when we find out something we destroy it, if anyone is referred to court it has not happened during the protests.

Q: Were any foreign elements arrested in Tahrir Square and referred to the military prosecution?
A: No, no one was detained.

Q: During the meeting that took place on January 20, was a decision to cut off communication taken?
A: This did not happen.

Q: Some Generals said we were asked to disperse protests using force. Were the armed forces asked to do that?

A: I said in the graduation ceremony of the police academy that I am telling the history that any member of the armed forces will not use fire against the people.

Arab Writers 'Should Not Be Invisible Anymore'

Der Spiegel

'People now, finally, are free and we are seeing an upsurge in creativity,' Jelloun says.

In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, Moroccan-born author and poet Ben Taher Jelloun talks about the Arab Spring and the burgeoning creativity in post-dictatorship countries. He also describes the challenge of writing from the perspective of Libya's former leader Moammar Gadhafi.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Your recently published essay collection deals with the Arab Spring. Are you worried what will happen once the euphoria dies down?

Jelloun: Yes. These countries have been abused and scarred by dictators. Now the pieces have to be picked up slowly. The changes and reforms needed will take a long time, many years. But citizens are impatient. Their impatience is understandable -- they have fought for reform and now they want to see swift changes.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is there a way to settle this sense of urgency?

Jelloun: Many young Tunisians, for example, want to emigrate to Europe because things are not changing fast enough for them. How can you tell young people that the transition needs at least another generation to become properly established? How can you tell them to sit back and wait for the change which they fought and risked their lives for? This is very hard. It is a painstaking process to construct a post-dictatorship system and the question is whether people's impatience can hold out.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What other major challenges do you anticipate?

Jelloun: Until now the individual was not recognized in the region. Tribes or ethnic groups were recognized but not the individual. In Libya, Moammar Gadhafi exploited the conflict between ethnic groups and played one tribe off against another. But now Arab revolts have been driven by individuals' urgency for change. The concept of the 'individual' has been born during these revolts. At the same time, tribal structures and ethnic traditions will not simply disappear. Tribal culture will have to enter into a modern framework and that is very complicated but individualism is here to stay.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What needs to change politically?

Jelloun: Changing people's mentalities is a major challenge. These countries need to face up to entrenched corruption. People are used to living with corruption, it is a habit for both the corrupted and those who corrupt others. It is very difficult to change this culture overnight.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: How has the revolt reflected in the literary scene?

Jelloun: I think there will be a creative boom. The fact that people are finally free means that we are seeing a surge in creativity of all sorts.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What was the situation for writers during the dictatorships?

Jelloun: There was a lot of state censorship but there was also the powerful force of auto-censorship. Even those who lived in exile were very, very cautious. Exiled writers from Iraq and Syria, for example, could not talk or write freely out of fear for the safety of family members still in their home countries. For instance, Lebanese writers who criticized Syria and its role in Lebanon have received death threats. Samir Kassir, a Lebanese writer who published articles speaking out against the Syrian dictatorship, was assassinated in June 2005. It is widely thought that the Syrians killed him.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Will there now be a wave of writers in exile returning to their countries?

Jelloun: Yes, that is happening already, for example, in Egypt. This trend is not restricted to intellectuals. We are also seeing a wave of entrepreneurs and high-level businesspeople returning to their native countries because they see new opportunities there. There is reason to be hopeful, but our hopes may be disappointed in the long run.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: How do you think European governments could best support Arab writers?

Jelloun: More support would be a good opportunity for European governments to make amends for the inexcusable things they did during the dictatorships. Arab writers' voices should be heard in Europe. They should be invited to address people and their work should be translated. They should not be invisible anymore. But their assistance should extend beyond the arts. They need to help the countries reconstruct themselves materially and politically too.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: You mention the 'inexcusable' role of Europe politicians in their relations with the dictatorships. Are you angry about the cozy ties?

Jelloun: No, I'm not astonished by how Europe behaved. Hasn't it always been like that in Europe? Haven't Europe's economic and material and energy interests always been put before their principles?

SPIEGEL ONLINE: You addressed hundreds of teenagers during the Berlin Literature Festival. What was your main message to young people?

Jelloun: To read! Reading is under threat by young people's attachment to computers. Those machines are everywhere, but reading is essential. It can help them understand other cultures. Reading can open their eyes. There is still too much confusion between Islam and terrorism. Young people shouldn't mix this up. They should learn that Islam is a monotheistic religion like Christianity and Judaism -- and, like Christianity and Judaism, it has fanatics, but that doesn't mean the fanatic element is at the core of the religion.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Do you like the media catchphrase 'Arab Spring?'

Jelloun: I like the term Arab Spring as it is the first time in years that the international media is reporting something positive about the Arab world. On the other hand, the word 'revolution' is being misused by the media. It is an Arabic revolt, not a revolution. Revolutions have to be prepared. They are carried out by a movement, a party and an ideology, it's about constructing something new in the medium or long-term. A revolt is a spontaneous expression of anger. Tunisia, for instance, has long had a vibrant civil society. That helped the revolt, but what really effected change, in Tunisia and elsewhere, was the population's spontaneous expression of anger.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In your book Arab Spring, you write from Moammar Gadhafi's perspective. Was this hard?

Jelloun: Quite the contrary, I like to climb into people's heads, even if dictators give me a headache. I like the process and you discover extraordinary things. It is like being an actor, you try and get inside the person, see how they tick. You can play at being someone else. Others who have read these essays have said they recognize the portrayal. I couldn't do the same about Angela Merkel as she seems to be an ordinary woman doing usual things. I am interested in writing from the point of view of people who are far from the norm, people who do extravagant things. Angela Merkel doesn't apply to that criteria.
Interview conducted by Jess Smee

Israeli diplomats fly home after angry mob sacks embassy in Egypt

Egypt is on high alert, after a night of riots in Cairo left at least three people dead, and more than a thousand injured. A demonstration for reform in the country quickly turned violent, as protesters vented their anger against the Israeli embassy. An raging mob stormed the building, with police slow to react. Eventually they did manage to push the rioters back with force.

Israel 'regrets' Egyptian police deaths, Egypt demands end to Gaza strikes

Al Arabiya
EMAN EL-SHENAWI

Israel regrets the deaths of five Egyptian security personnel killed during an Israeli pursuit of Gaza-based militants, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Saturday after Cairo announced it was recalling its ambassador to Tel Aviv in protest.

Mr. Barak said he has instructed the Israeli army to hold "a joint investigation with the Egyptian army to clarify the circumstances of the incident," a written statement said.

"Israel regrets the deaths of Egyptian policemen during the attacks on the Egyptian-Israeli border," Mr. Barak said about Thursday's assault by gunmen in the Eilat region of Israel, AFP reported.

But Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defense official, said earlier it remained unclear how the Egyptians died.

"No (Israeli) soldier intentionally aims any weapons at Egyptian police or soldiers," Mr. Gilad said, adding that "perhaps terrorists fired at them, or something else occurred."

This was the first major diplomatic row between Israel and Egypt’s transitionary military rulers since a popular revolt overthrew Egyptian former President Hosni Mubarak in February, a long-time ally of Israel.

Egyptian state media announced on Saturday that Egypt was withdrawing its ambassador from Israel pending an investigation by the Jewish state of the border killings. Egypt is also demanding an apology for statements accusing the Egyptian military of losing its grip on the Sinai peninsula, Reuters reported.

But despite state media announcing that Egypt was recalling its ambassador to Tel Aviv, Israel said it had received no official notification from Egypt of this.

"At no time has Israel been officially notified of a recall of the Egyptian ambassador," foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said.

Meanwhile, Egypt had also called on Israel to immediately halt the ongoing punitive strikes on the Palestinian Gaza Strip after militants carried out deadly attacks in Israel.

"Egypt denounces the use of force against civilians in any circumstance and strongly advises Israel to immediately stop its military operations against Gaza," a foreign ministry statement said.

Eight Israelis were killed in separate attacks on Thursday near the border when gunmen opened fire on buses and cars. International condemnation of the attacks from the White House and other European states labeled the attacks on Israel as “terrorist” and “barbaric.”

Israeli forces carried have since carried out air strikes in retaliation, targeting those blamed for the attacks in Gaza.

The air raids have killed 14 people in Gaza over the past two days, while Palestinian fighters in the territory have launched more rockets into southern Israel, injuring three people.

Protests in Egypt over the Egyptian police deaths erupted outside of the Israeli embassy in Cairo since Friday, with some protesters torching Israeli flags as they called for the expulsion of the Jewish state's envoy.

Egypt's Islamists challenge military rulers

SFGate

Egypt's most influential Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has warned the country's ruling military council not to interfere in the process of writing the country's future constitution.

The statement Saturday from the Brotherhood marks the first time the group has directly challenged Egypt's military rulers since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak in February.

How a new constitution will be drawn up is an intensely disputed subject in Egypt.

Parliamentary elections are slated for later this year, and the Islamists are expected to win big at the polls. That would likely give them a dominant voice in appointing the committee that will draft a new constitution.

Liberals fear that an Islamist-dominated committee will produce a constitution that serves only the Islamists' agenda.