The United States sharpened its criticism of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s teetering regime and expressed outrage over violence against protesters, declaring that its once-close partner should set a brisk course for new elections.“Now means now,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs(right photo) said of Egypt’s transition, repeating that continued aid to Egypt would be influenced by the government’s response to the crisis.
With its allies across the Arab world shaken by popular anger, the call for an immediate end to three decades of authoritarian rule in Egypt coincided with American hopes that reforms in Jordan and Yemen could stave off similar revolt. It represented something of a dual approach for the Obama administration, which has gradually shed its support for the 82-year-old Mubarak while looking to shore up its other Arab friends facing much of the same resentment if not yet imminent revolution.
“We want to see free, fair and credible elections,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley(right photo) said on Wednesday. He stressed that keeping presidential elections in September or advancing the timeframe was entirely up to Egyptians and that the process should not be so hasty that it leaves legitimate players out of the process, but he added, “The sooner that can happen, the better.”- A day after President Barack Obama pressed Mr. Mubarak to loosen his three-decade grip on power immediately, clashes between protesters and pro-government supporters further alienated Egypt’s besieged government from its long-time patron, the United States.
The administration decried the fighting that started when several thousand Mubarak supporters, including some riding horses and camels and wielding whips, attacked anti-government protesters. Demonstrators dragged some of the attackers to the ground and beat them bloody, and the two sides rained stones and bottles down on each other.- Mr. Crowley called the assailants “thugs.” Mr. Obama “found the images outrageous and deplorable,” Gibbs said. The administration did not accuse Mr. Mubarak of orchestrating the clashes but said his government should show restraint.“If any of the violence is instigated by the government it should stop immediately,” Mr. Gibbs added.Protesters claimed plainclothes police were among the attackers.
- The comments from the two U.S. spokesmen aimed to keep the pressure on Mr. Mubarak amid fears that the Egyptian government was trying to outlast the protesters’ calls for democratic change with cosmetic changes that don’t meet the need for real reform. They echoed Mr. Obama’s call for change to “begin now” after Mr. Mubarak announced he would not run for re-election.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton demanded in a telephone conversation with Egypt’s new vice president, Omar Suleiman, that the government investigate the events and bring those responsible to account. She condemned the violence, Mr. Crowley reported.
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