Egypt army chief warns state could collapse

[Jroc]

Egyptian protesters celebrate the capture of a state security armored vehicle that demonstrators commandeered during clashes with security forces and brought to Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Egypt’s army chief warned Tuesday of the “the collapse of the state” if the political crisis roiling the nation for nearly a week continues, but said the armed forces will respect the right of Egyptians to protest.

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's army chief warned Tuesday that the state could collapse if the latest political crisis roiling the nation drags on but also defended the right of people to protest.

Troops deployed in the two riot-torn Suez Canal cities of Port Said and Suez stood by and watched Monday night as thousands took to the streets in direct defiance of a night curfew and a state of emergency declared by the president a day earlier. Residents of those two cities and Ismailiya, a third city also the emergency, marched through the streets just as the curfew came into force at 9 p.m.

The display of contempt for the president's decision was tantamount to an outright rebellion that many worried could spread to other parts of the country. Already, protesters across much of Egypt are battling police, cutting off roads and railway lines, and besieging government offices and police stations as part of a growing revolt against the rule of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group.

At least 60 people have been killed since Friday.

Morsi's opponents protest that Islamists have monopolized power and not lived up to the ideals of the pro-democracy uprising that ousted authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.

Mideast Egypt | CNS News

 

[waltky]

Army warns unrest pushing Egypt to the brink...

Mursi due in Germany on visit shortened by Egypt crisis
29 Jan.`13 - President Mohamed Mursi is to leave Egypt's political crisis behind on Wednesday with a short trip to Germany to seek urgently needed foreign investment and convince Europe of his democratic credentials.

But with the Egyptian army chief warning on Tuesday that the state was on the brink of collapse after days of lethal street violence, Mursi cancelled plans to go on to Paris from Berlin and will instead hurry back to Cairo later in the day. Fifty-two people have been killed in unrest surrounding the two-year anniversary of Egypt's popular revolution, whose values Mursi's critics say he has betrayed.

His supporters say protesters want to overthrow Egypt's first democratically elected leader, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood that was banned under former President Hosni Mubarak but has come to dominate Egypt since his downfall in 2011. Mursi on Monday declared a month-long state of emergency in three violence-ridden cities on the Suez Canal - Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, imposing a curfew and allowing soldiers to arrest civilians.

The turmoil eased on Tuesday but the instability has stirred unease in the West about the direction of the Arab world's most populous country, where a currency slump has compounded severe economic problems. Mursi will be keen to allay those fears when he meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel and powerful industry groups in Berlin.

"TURBULENCE"

 

[TheOldSchool]

I wish the Egyptian people all the best and hope they can get their radicals under control. The last revolution swung them from one extreme to the other.

 

[Jroc]

I wish the Egyptian people all the best and hope they can get their radicals under control. The last revolution swung them from one extreme to the other.

That would mean a change in government

 

[waltky]

BBC Arabic's Marwa Nasser took the views of some Egyptians on the streets of Cairo...

Egypt voices: Life since Mubarak
11 February 2013 - Egyptians are marking the second anniversary of the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak. The country has gone through tumultuous changes since Mr Mubarak stepped down on 11 February 2011, a move which cleared the way for Egypt's first democratic elections. Egypt is however still in the grip of political and economic turmoil, and there are many who believe life was better under Mr Mubarak.

Omneya Mogeeb, 45, researcher - Mubarak had to leave. Corruption during his era was unbelievable. Mubarak's resignation was a great step that changed the history of Egypt. If Mubarak hadn't resigned, we wouldn't have moved a step forward. Maybe we don't feel any change now, but we will in the future. I was very happy he stepped down, now we have a voice, and we've overcome our fears. In his era, nobody dared talk about politics. But now even the doorman can discuss politics very well. The youth surprised us with this revolution. I'm very pleased to have seen such amazing mentalities. I took part in the protests in Tahrir Square during the 18 days. We were together, [acting as] one hand during those days. We have some difficulties now, but we will overcome them soon.

Mostafa Ismael, 54, bus driver - Since Mubarak stepping down, we haven't seen any stability. Thugs are everywhere. All we want is to live in peace and resume our work safely. Maybe Mubarak had to leave, but I think it's even worse now. I never took part in any protests, I don't care about politics. I just want to live in peace and in stability.

Sherine Shehata, 30, interior design engineer - Like so many Egyptians, I was extremely happy the day Mubarak stepped down. I took part in the protests of the 18 days and on the day he stepped down we went out and celebrated in the streets. He stayed for such a long time and didn't serve the country well. But I don't feel he did resign, there are still whole apparatuses serving the former regime and Mubarak and his aids. It's a 30-year-old corrupted regime that spread its roots, you can't just end it overnight or even 18 days. I kept taking part in protests for a year afterwards, but now I have nothing to do with politics. I didn't expect that after a peaceful revolution, we would reach this point of violence and blood shed.

Abdel Aleem Mahmoud, 55, cleaner - He shouldn't have stepped down. Mubarak had a firm grip on the country. During his rule, we never saw those festivals and thuggery, beating or theft. I look behind me while walking fearing someone might attack me. We don't even feel secure inside our houses. We would sleep and leave the doors open in Mubarak's time. But now you lock your door and you still live in fear. They claim he was stealing from his people, but at least he made it a safe country to live in. I have nothing to do with the revolution or politics.

Fekerya al-Sayed, 60, housewife

See also:

Egypt protests on anniversary of Mubarak's fall
Feb 11,`13 -- Security forces sprayed protesters with water hoses and tear gas outside the presidential palace Monday as Egyptians marked the second anniversary of the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak's with angry demonstrations against his elected successor.

The forces were trying to disperse a small crowd of protesters after some of them attempted to cross a barbed wire barrier meant to block them from the palace gate. Some protesters chanted: "The people want to bring down the regime." Others threw stones. Graffiti scribbled on the palace walls read: "Erhal" or "Leave," the chant that echoed through Cairo's central Tahrir Square during the 18-day uprising that ended with Mubarak stepping down on Feb. 11, 2011.

Earlier, masked men briefly blocked trains at a central Cairo subway station and a dozen other protesters blocked traffic with burning tires on a main overpass in Cairo. Hundreds rallied outside the office of the country's chief prosecutor demanding justice and retribution for protesters killed in clashes with security forces after Islamist President Mohammed Morsi took office last summer. The protesters lobbed plastic bags filled with red liquid at the prosecutor's office to recall the blood spilled by civilians in clashes with security forces. His appointment by Morsi was criticized as a violation of the judiciary's independence. Another group of protesters locked shut the doors of the main administrative building for state services just outside the subway station at Tahrir Square.

Egypt has been gripped by political turmoil since Mubarak's ouster, in an uprising driven largely by anger over widespread abuse at the hands of state security agencies. After he stepped down, Mubarak was replaced by a ruling military council that was in power for 17 months. The rule of the generals was marred by violence and criticism that the council mismanaged the transitional period. Morsi won the first free elections in June. But he and his Muslim Brotherhood, which rose to be Egypt's most powerful political group post-Mubarak, are now facing the wrath of Egyptians who drove the 2011 revolt but who say few of their goals have been realized.

For many in Egypt, the past two years have only increased frustration, with the economy deteriorating as political bickering between a largely secular opposition and a tightly organized and conservative Islamist bloc obstructed progress. Protesters are particularly angry over the continued heavy handedness of security services, claiming little has changed since the Mubarak era. Many accuse Morsi and the Brotherhood of trying to monopolize power and ignoring the demands of the secular and liberal groups who were the backbone of the uprising.

MORE

 

[Jroc]

Obama's buddies the muslim brotherhood on the move

Tunisian Islamist, London tied Rachid Ghannoushi, Linked to extremist Muslim Brotherhood – Calls For Adoption of “Islamic Constitution”

An Egyptian news report has identified a Tunisian Islamist as a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood “abroad.” According to the report:

A group of Muslim Brotherhood leaders abroad, headed by Rashid Ghannouchi (Tunisia Brothers) and Faisal Mawlawi (the brothers of Lebanon) has asked the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood to quickly end the differences that exist within the group and to preserve the unity of the Muslim Brotherhood, so it does not affect the branches of the group abroad.

Rashid Ghannouchi (many spelling variations) is the leader in-exile of the Tunisian Islamist movement known as Nahada (aka Ennahda, Al Nahda) and can best be described as an independent Islamist power center who is tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood by his membership in the European Council for Fatwa and Research led by Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi. He is also one of the founding members of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), a Saudi organization closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and dedicated to the propagation of “Wahabist” Islam throughout the world. Ghannouchi is know for his thinking on the issue of Islam and citizenship rights.

Saddam Hussein lookalike Chokri Belai was assassinated on February 6, 2013, with the blamed pointed at Rachid Ghannoushi. A leading secular politician, Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, accused Muslim extremists of trying to establish a religious dictatorship in Tunisia after the assassination of a prominent critic of the country’s main Islamist party.

Tunisian Islamist and extremist Muslim Brotherhood leader, Rachid Ghannoushi, tied to London network «