Kemelut Mesir: Ratusan ribu sertai ‘hari pengunduran’

KAHERAH: Penunjuk perasaan di Mesir berhimpun secara besar-besaran semalam melancarkan demonstrasi ‘hari pengunduran’ bagi mendesak Presiden Hosni Mubarak berundur selepas beliau berkata akan meletakkan jawatan tetapi bimbang akan mengakibatkan kekacauan lebih buruk di negara itu.

Ratusan ribu penunjuk perasaan yang berkubu sepanjang malam di Medan Tahrir di Kaherah, yang menjadi tumpuan utama demonstrasi menentang Mubarak yang tidak pernah berlaku sebelum ini, disertai oleh orang ramai yang datang ke tempat itu dari seluruh penjuru bandaraya Kaherah sejak awal pagi dalam demonstrasi hari ke-11 itu.

Selepas pertempuran berdarah beberapa hari lalu antara penunjuk perasaan dan kumpulan proMubarak dengan insiden membaling batu tercetus, kumpulan penunjuk perasaan kini memakai topi keselamatan sebagai langkah berjaga-jaga. Kedua-dua kumpulan menjalankan pemeriksaan pengenalan diri sebelum memasuki medan berkenaan bagi mengelak pihak bertentangan menyusup masuk dan seterusnya mencetuskan provokasi.

Menteri Pertahanan, Mohammed Hussein Tantawi turut mengunjungi medan itu dengan memakai topi tentera bagi menyaksikan sendiri keadaan di situ, lapor televisyen kerajaan.

Naib Presiden, Omar Suleiman yang menjadi pilihan Washington dalam rancangan menggantikan kepemimpinan Mubarak pada masa depan lewat malam semalam menuntut supaya penunjuk perasaan menghentikan demonstrasi, namun berjanji pihak tentera tidak akan menggunakan sebarang kekerasan terhadap penunjuk perasaan.

Washington mengecam keras keganasan yang berlaku terhadap kumpulan penunjuk perasaan itu yang menyebabkan sekurang-kurangnya lapan orang terbunuh dan lebih 800 lagi cedera sejak beberapa hari lalu dengan mengatakan mereka mempunyai bukti bahawa kejadian itu dirancang.

Jurucakap Jabatan Negara, Philip Crowle berkata, kerajaan Ameika Syarikat mengesan keganasan itu dilakukan pihak yang rapat dengan kerajaan dan parti pemerintah walaupun tidak berapa jelas sejauh mana kaitan mereka. - AFP

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Harga minyak bakal melambung

KUALA LUMPUR – Krisis politik di Mesir jika dibiarkan berpanjangan dibimbangi mengakibatkan harga minyak dunia terus melambung sekali gus akan turut memberi kesan buruk kepada ekonomi negara.

Pakar ekonomi, Datuk Mohd. Salleh Majid (gambar) berkata, krisis tersebut yang sudah pun berlarutan lebih seminggu telah mengakibatkan kenaikan harga bahan bakar dunia kepada kira-kira RM310 setong ketika ini.

Menurutnya, keadaan itu berlaku apabila aktiviti ekonomi menerusi Terusan Suez, Mesir yang merupakan laluan tunggal perdagangan yang menghubungkan Eropah dan Asia sudah mula terganggu.

“Jika terusan itu terganggu, ia sudah pasti menimbulkan masalah paling besar iaitu harga minyak dunia terus meningkat termasuk di negara kita,” katanya ketika dihubungi Kosmo! semalam.

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Obama to Mubarak: Listen to Egyptian people

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama said Friday that talks between the Egyptian government and its political opponents were in the initial stages, but warned that the mere "pretense of reform" would not be enough to resolve that country's deepening crisis.

The transition of power "must begin now" and lead to "free and fair elections," he declared. Negotiations must "include a broad representation of the Egyptian opposition," he told reporters.

Asked if embattled President Hosni Mubarak needs to step down now -- as opposed to waiting for a successor to be chosen in Egypt's September elections -- Obama said Mubarak needs to consult with advisers and listen to what's "being voiced by the Egyptian people."

The Egyptian leader is "proud" but also a "patriot," Obama said. Mubarak needs to make a judgment about his legacy and the best "pathway forward." Violence and repression have no role in the "orderly transition process," he added. "The whole world is watching."

Obama noted he has had two conversations with Mubarak since the crisis began.

The U.S. government has encouraged talks between Mubarak's government and its opponents over the past few days, in part out of recognition that an orderly transition to democracy could prove difficult if Mubarak suddenly steps down without laying any groundwork first.

"We can't dictate what an orderly transition means, but it's time for both of them to roll up their sleeves," one senior State Department official said earlier Friday.

Members of the opposition, a disparate group of at least six factions and political groups nominally headed by Mohamed ElBaradei, are still "jockeying," the official said, hedging their bets on how events will play out, and some are refusing to negotiate unless and until Mubarak steps down.

The official said the administration believes Mubarak's vice president -- Omar Suleiman -- is sincere in his willingness to talk with the opposition, although talks are still in the initial stages.

U.S. lawmakers chimed in Thursday, with foreign policy veterans Sens. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, and John McCain, R-Arizona, among those calling for Mubarak to step aside.

Thursday night, the U.S. Senate gave unanimous approval to a resolution calling for Mubarak to "immediately begin an orderly and peaceful transition to a democratic political system, including the transfer of power to an inclusive interim caretaker government, in coordination with leaders from Egypt's opposition, civil society, and military, to enact the necessary reforms to hold free, fair, and internationally credible elections this year."

Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, have condemned a string of attacks against journalists, human rights activists, and protesters in Egypt.

The United States continues "to be crystal clear that we oppose violence as a response to this crisis," Obama said Friday. On Thursday, Clinton called such incidents "a violation of international norms" and "unacceptable in any circumstances."

"It is especially in times of crisis that governments must demonstrate their adherence to (core universal) values," she said.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday that the administration continues "to receive very disturbing reports" of "systematic targeting" of journalists in Egypt.

The increasingly urgent push for reform comes as the Egyptian government pushed back on what it called "vague" statements from the Obama administration about the pace of transition.

One Egyptian government official told CNN the United States has shown support for its "road map" for transitioning to democracy by the end of Mubarak's term in September, but said Obama's call for an "orderly transition" are at odds with his call for an immediate one.

The official said Mubarak is seen as a "receding figure" in Egyptian politics, but deposing him immediately would lead to a murky political process, which would prevent the free and fair elections the protesters are calling for. According to the Egyptian constitution, the presidency would be transferred to the speaker of the parliament if Mubarak leaves power without enacting certain legislative and constitutional reforms.

"Institutionally, there is support in Egypt for this road map among the military, vice president and prime minister," the official said. "The bureaucracy thinks it has a degree of legitimacy and if the objective continues to be deposing the president now, they clearly don't understand the advantage that this road map will create a constitutional and administrative voice to the transition and is not going to lead to confusion."

U.S. officials describe an opposition that is not altogether unified on whether to begin a dialogue with the government. Some, like former foreign minster and Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa, said concessions made by Mubarak present an opportunity to build upon. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood had said that no talks should take place until Mubarak steps down.

"There are some people who see what is required to hold the type of elections they want to hold. They are looking at the administrative questions that have to be answered, and realize that will take a bit of time," the senior State Department official said. "They are focusing on elections and transformation of the system, rather than on Mubarak."

The Egyptian official said conversations with Washington suggest the United States understands this process, but public statements from Obama, Clinton, and U.S. government spokesmen have sent mixed messages.

"We understand the need to be vague and play to the street, but this is hardly the time," the official said.

The United States continues to reach out to every country in the Middle East, not only to solicit their analysis and advice, but also to assure nervous allies that the United States stands with them during this tumultuous time in the region, the official said.

"We are in a phase where the Mubarak era is ending in Egypt, either now or in September, and something this significant hasn't happened in the region in some time," the official said. "We are giving them the chance to give us their views and letting them know how significant this is."

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Iran: Presiden Mesir hamba Israel, AS

TEHERAN: Presiden Mesir Hosni Mubarak adalah hamba Israel dan Amerika Syarikat, kata Pemimpin utama Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dalam khutbah Jumaat, semalam.

“Selama 30 tahun negara ini (Mesir) diperintah seseorang yang tidak memperjuangkan kebebasan dan musuh kepada mereka yang memperjuangkan kebebasan,” kata Ali.

“Beliau bukan saja tidak antiZionis tetapi beliau adalah teman, rakan dan hamba kepada Zionis. Hakikatnya, Hosni Mubarak yang menjadi hamba kepada AS tidak mampu membawa Mesir ke arah kemakmuran,” kata Ali yang mendakwa Israel adalah negara paling bimbang mengenai revolusi rakyat Arab.

“Hari ini Israel dan Zionis adalah pihak yang paling dilanda kebimbangan terhadap kejadian yang berlaku kerana mereka tahu jika Mesir berhenti menjadi sekutu mereka dan mengambil tindakan yang wajar, maka keadaan akan berubah di rantau Arab,” katanya lagi. - AFP

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Kemelut Mesir: Tentera gesa tamatkan tunjuk perasaan

KAHERAH: Tentera Mesir semalam menggesa rakyat negara itu menamatkan tunjuk perasaan untuk menggulingkan Presiden Hosni Mubarak yang sudah berlarutan sejak lebih seminggu lalu.

Tentera juga mengisytiharkan sokongan terhadap Hosni, beberapa jam selepas presiden itu menolak desakan supaya meletak jawatan serta-merta.

Perisytiharan itu adalah perubahan jelas dalam pendirian tentera yang sebelum ini membayangkan sokongan terhadap penunjuk perasaan dengan berkata, ia tidak akan menggunakan kekerasan terhadap penunjuk perasaan dan menyifatkan tuntutan mereka berasas.

Dalam mesejnya, pihak tentera merayu penunjuk perasaan muda menghentikan bantahan mereka ‘demi cinta mereka kepada Mesir.’ “Anda keluar untuk menyuarakan tuntutan anda dan anda adalah orang yang berupaya untuk mengembalikan kehidupan normal di Mesir,” kata jurucakap tentera, Ismail Etman dalam ucapan menerusi televisyen.

“Mesej anda sudah diterima dan tuntutan anda sudah diberi perhatian.” Sejurus selepas ucapannya, televisyen menyiarkan mesej berbunyi: “Pihak tentera menyeru penunjuk perasaan kembali ke rumah masing-masing demi untuk mengembalikan kestabilan.”

Dalam perkembangan lain, perkhidmatan Internet kembali di negara itu selepas dihentikan selama beberapa hari oleh kerajaan.

Sementara itu, semakin ramai penduduk Mesir menyuarakan kebimbangan terhadap kemungkinan berlaku kekurangan makanan jika tunjuk perasaan berterusan. - AP

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