Egyptian police and protesters clashed in Cairo’s city center and in the port city of Suez on Jan. 26, the second day of anti-government rallies. The Interior Ministry had banned all protests, and security officials said at least 500 were arrested around the country. In the capital, where demonstrators declared a “day of anger” to demand the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, police used tear gas and protesters responded with hurled stones. One protester and one police officer are reported killed in Cairo street fighting. In Suez, three protesters were reported killed in a police baton charge the previous day. (Middle East Online, YNet, Jan. 26)
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Biden betrays Egyptians
Vice President Joe Biden told PBS NewsHour Jan. 27 that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is someone he knows “fairly well” and does not consider to be a dictator. Asked whether it is time for Mubarak to step down, Biden said no—going on to praise Mubarak as “an ally of ours” and partner in the Middle East peace process. He did add that “the time has come for President Mubarak to begin to move in the direction of being more responsive to some of the needs of the people out there.”
The vice president was hesitant to link protests in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen as part of a trend, saying he didn’t “see any direct relationship, other than it might be argued that what is happening in one country sparks whatever concern there is another country.” (In which case it is a trend, no?) Asked whether the Egyptians have the right to protest, he equivocated by calling for dialogue between protesters and the government. He called for both sides to refrain from violence, as if there was any equivalence between the violence of the protesters and that of the security forces.
CSM informs us that Internet and instant message services are effectively shut down in Egypt, as protesters call for a national mobilization following Friday prayers on Jan. 28.