Perilous
Times
Egypt: Protesters keep up momentum as Mubarak refuses to
quit
By the CNN Wire Staff
February 9, 2011 10:40 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Parliament moved after protesters overflow into nearby
area
* Egypt's foreign minister tells PBS that Mubarak exit would
mean chaos
* The protests expand beyond Tahrir Square into a government
compound
* The momentum keeps up Wednesday as massive crowds show up
again
Does a new Cabinet mean hope for people in Egypt? Tune in to
"AC360º" for all the latest developments at 10 ET Wednesday night.
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- For a 16th consecutive day, tens of
thousands of protesters in Egypt jammed Cairo's Tahrir Square on
Wednesday, with so many spilling into a nearby compound of
government buildings that government officials moved parliament to
another site.
The government again sought to portray the imminent threat of
chaos if the octogenarian president, Hosni Mubarak, were to end
his 30 years of autocratic rule by stepping down right away.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told PBS' "NewsHour"
Wednesday that the military might have to intervene if that were
to occur.
"Do we want the armed forces to assume the responsibility of
stabilizing the nation through imposing martial law, and the army
in the streets?" Aboul Gheit asked rhetorically. "For the army to
rule, to step in, to put its friends on the scene, that would be a
very dangerous possibility."
He urged the protesters to adopt "some rationality" and said the
self-proclaimed Council of the Wise, a group of prominent
Egyptians from various walks of life, should determine a course of
action.
Aboul Gheit told PBS that Mubarak's interest was to protect the
stability of the most populous nation in the Arab world. That's
why he will not accede to the protesters' demands that he
relinquish power immediately, he said.
"He thinks that it would entail chaos and it would entail violence
and it would entail also opportunities for those who would wish to
act in a manner to threaten the state, the stability of the
country and society," Aboul Gheit said.
Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at more than 300 since
the January 25 rally that ignited the movement.
"Instead of running scared, the regime is fighting back with both
words and violence to quash its opponents, portraying the
opposition as a foreign-backed, un-Egyptian group of
conspirators," Human Rights Watch said Wednesday on its website.
"Sadly, its propaganda campaign appears to be as crude as its
actual physical crackdown has been."
The protests were largely peaceful Wednesday, with demonstrators
in one rally composed solely of children who chanted anti-Mubarak
slogans. "We want the whole regime to end because they are not
making our lives any easier," said 11-year-old Yousef Saeed.
Some of their older relatives said they had brought the children
to the square to witness history unfolding. "It is the birth of
freedom," said Saeed's uncle, Mohammed Mostafa. "Witnessing this
event will engrave in them love of this nation, loyalty, freedom
and respecting change. I want them to be free."
But the prospect of freedom was competing with the cost of living
as a motivator for some Egyptians, 20% of whom live in poverty.
"Whether Hosni stays or Hosni goes, what's important is that the
youth get jobs," said Amgad, a mother of three living an hour
outside Cairo, in the rural town of Fayoum on the Nile Delta. Her
work at a doctor's office earns her $30 per month -- not enough to
pay the electricity bill.
Amgad said her husband, a day laborer, has been unable to find
work since the demonstrations began on January 25. "Our situation
is horrible, to be honest," she said as she showed CNN the bedroom
where she, her husband and their three daughters sleep. "I can
hardly feed them."
On the streets of Cairo, the people showed no signs of relenting.
They chanted, "Mubarak is a thief."
The embattled president, meanwhile, went about business as usual
Wednesday, meeting with his foreign minister and Russia's deputy
foreign minister, state-run television showed.
The unrest extended beyond Cairo. Two people were killed and
others were wounded in clashes with police in southern Egypt,
state TV reported. A journalist said the hostilities stemmed from
complaints about a member of the police force in Kharga.
In the northern town of Port Said, protesters attacked the
governor's building over a land and housing dispute, state TV
said.
The protesters were galvanized by the tears and words of an
activist who was seized by security forces and held for 10 days
before he was released Monday.
"If you are true Egyptians, if you are heroic Egyptians, it's time
to step down," Wael Ghonim told CNN Wednesday in a message
directed to the ruling elite. The 30-year-old Egyptian father of
two administered the Facebook page that is widely credited with
calling the first protest. Ghonim, on leave from his job at Google
in Dubai, said he was prepared to die for the cause.
"Kidnap me, kidnap all my colleagues!" Wael Ghonim said in
comments that challenged Vice President Omar Suleiman to try to
undo his efforts and those of his supporters. "Put us in jail!
Kill us! Do whatever you want to do. We are getting back our
country. You guys have been ruining this country for 30 years.
Enough! Enough! Enough!"
Mubarak's regime said Tuesday that it had discussed a number of
reforms with leaders of various opposition groups and appointed a
panel to look into amending the constitution. But its insistence
that Mubarak's immediate exit was a recipe for chaos elicited
impatience from the Obama administration.
Washington is calling on its African ally to expand negotiations
with opposition groups, lift the 30-year state of emergency and
make constitutional changes to bring about democratic elections.
But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs expressed impatience
Wednesday with the pace of progress on those matters. "I think it
is clear that what the government has thus far put forward has yet
to meet a minimum threshold for the people of Egypt," he told
reporters.
A short White House statement on U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's
telephone conversation with Vice President Omar Suleiman used the
word "immediate" or "immediately" four times.
Biden "urged that the transition produce immediate, irreversible
progress that responds to the aspirations of the Egyptian people."
The statement also hinted the White House harbors doubts as to
whether the Egyptian government is seriously committed to reforms,
referring to the regime's statements as "what the government is
saying it is prepared to accept."
Meanwhile, an Arab diplomat said that Saudi Arabia would consider
matching the more than $1.5 billion in military aid that the
United States provides each year to Egypt if Washington were to
cut it.
CNN's Ben Wedeman, Nic Robertson, Saad Abedine, Amir Ahmed,
Caroline Faraj and Frederik Pleitgen contributed to this report.