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Egyptian Military Refuses to Use Force Against Protesters

VOA News January 31, 2011

The Egyptian military said Monday it recognizes the "legitimate demands" of the Egyptian people, and it vowed not to "use force" against the public.

The military statement Monday comes as tens of thousands of Egyptians continue to protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square, defying the fourth night of a government-imposed curfew as they continue to press for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's nearly 30-year rule.

Later, Egypt's newly appointed vice president said on state television that Mr. Mubarak has asked him to begin an immediate dialogue with all "political forces" for constitutional and legislative reforms. Omar Suleiman, a longtime confidant of Mr. Mubarak, did not say what the changes would entail or which groups the government will contact.

Protesters are calling for even larger protests on Tuesday - a million-person march in Cairo.

The military statement did not specify whether it considers legitimate the demands for President Hosni Mubarak's removal or just calls for reform.

Egyptian media say Mr. Mubarak has appointed a new interior minister and finance minister, in an apparent attempt to quell angry protesters. The foreign minister and long-serving defense minister kept their posts in the Cabinet reshuffle.

Reports from Cairo say former director of prisons General Mahmoud Wagdy will replace Habib Adly as the interior minister, who oversees the police and plainclothed domestic security forces. Many Egyptians had been calling for his firing after deadly clashes last week between police and demonstrators.

Police were back on the streets Monday, but security sources say they have orders to stick to regular police work without confronting any demonstrators.

More than 125 people have died during protest violence since Tuesday.

Looting has become a problem in Cairo. Egypt's army is continuing its increased presence, with tanks guarding banks and government buildings.

The al-Jazeera television station says authorities detained six of its workers and confiscated their camera equipment. The reporters were later released.

The uprising in Egypt began as a spontaneous, grassroots movement but began to seriously organize Sunday when the country's largest opposition group, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, threw its support behind Egypt's most prominent democracy advocate, former U.N. nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

A newly formed opposition coalition, which includes the Islamist movement, has asked ElBaradei to form a national unity government and make contact with Egypt's military.

Earlier Sunday, ElBaradei told some 5,000 protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square that they "cannot go back." He called for "a new Egypt" in which every citizen "lives in freedom and dignity." Senior Brotherhood leader Essam el-Erian also addressed the crowd.

El-Erian had walked out of prison earlier in the day after the guards fled. Gangs freed at least 34 members of the Muslim Brotherhood and thousands of other inmates after attacking jails across Egypt and overpowering the guards.

Mr. Mubarak ordered his new Cabinet Sunday to preserve subsidies, control inflation and provide more jobs. In a letter read on state television, the embattled president also stressed the need for political reform through dialogue with the country's opposition parties.

An unprecedented Internet cutoff remained in place for a fourth day Monday, an apparent move by the government to disrupt protest organizers.