THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT has been urged to lift its 30-year-old state of emergency immediately as protests in the capital Cairo entered their third week.
The BBC reports that US Vice President Joe Biden has been in contact with his Egyptian counterpart Omar Suleiman on an almost daily basis as the White House focuses on “concrete reforms” in the country.
Vice President Suleiman’s comments that Egypt was not ready for democracy have been described as “particularly unhelpful” by the White House, as the country’s capital saw one of the biggest anti-government protests since they began on 25 January.
President Hosni Mubarak has already said that he will remain in office until elections in September having set up a committee to propose constitutional changes and another to carry out the changes.
A third committee is to investigate clashes between pro- and anti-Mubarak groups last week and refer its findings to the prosecutor-general. Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 302 protesters have died since the 28 January. The Egyptian government have yet to confirm any comprehensive death toll.
The Guardian reports that the demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square drew many Egyptians who have not attended the protests before including women, children and government workers. This is seen as a sign of the broadening base of support for Mubarak’s 30-year rule to end.
Many of the hundreds of thousands of protesters who turned out yesterday are calling on Mubarak to leave government now and say that the regime, even under Vice President Suleiman who is overseeing the transition, cannot be trusted.
Protestors have organised another mass protest for Friday in which they plan to hold a symbolic trial of President Mubarak.
One protester Ayman Abdullah, 43, said he regards Tahrir square as liberated territory:
This is the first piece of the new Egypt. Mubarak does not rule here anymore. Suleiman does not rule here. We will rule here and will rule all of Egypt.
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