Mubarak vows reform but defends security forces
Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has appeared on television for the first time since protests erupted demanding his ousting, and he said he will press ahead with social, economic and political reforms.
He defended the security forces’ crackdown on protesters.
Protesters have seized the streets of Cairo, battling police with stones and firebombs, burning down the ruling party headquarters, and defying a night curfew enforced by a military deployment.
It is the peak of unrest posing the most dire threat to Mr Mubarak in his three decades of authoritarian rule.
Mr Mubarak said he has asked his Cabinet to resign.
He called anti-government protests part of a plot to destabilise Egypt and destroy the legitimacy of his regime.
A sombre looking Mr Mubarak called anti-government protests ``part of a bigger plot to shake the stability and destroy legitimacy'' of the political system.
The steps announced in a nationally televised speech fell short of protesters’ demands for his ousting that have been a constant mantra during four straight days of demonstrations.
“Out, out, out,” protesters chanted today in violent, chaotic scenes of battles with riot police.
They also demand remedies to widespread poverty in this nation of 80 million.
“We aspire for more democracy, more effort to combat unemployment and poverty and combat corruption,” he said.
But those words were likely to be interpreted as an attempt to cling to power rather than take concrete steps to solve some of the more pressing problems facing many Egyptians, primarily unemployment and rapidly rising food prices.
Mr Mubarak also defended the security forces’ crackdown on protesters, saying he had given them instructions that the protesters be allowed to express their views.
But, he said, acts of violence and vandalism left the security forces with no choice but to react top restore order.
Protesters have seized the streets of Cairo, battling police with stones and firebombs, burning down the ruling party headquarters, and defying a night curfew enforced by a military deployment.
It is the peak of unrest posing the most dire threat to Mr Mubarak in his three decades of authoritarian rule.
He said this week’s protests struck fear in the heart of the majority of Egyptians concerned about the future of their country.
“Violence will not solve the problems we face or realise the objectives we aspire to,” he said.
“I will not shy away from taking any decision that maintains the security of every Egyptian,” he vowed.
US President Barack Obama said he had spoken to Mr Mubarak and told him he has a responsibility to take concrete steps to deliver on promises of better democracy and greater economic opportunity.
Mr Obama spoke in the White House State Dining Room shortly after Mr Mubarak appeared on television for the first time since the populace unleashed frenzied protests aimed at ending his 30-year authoritarian rule.
Mr Obama did not call on him to do so. Instead he emphasised the need for Mr Mubarak to make reforms and said: “This moment of volatility has to be turned into a moment of promise.”
