International reactions to the 2011 Egyptian revolution
Encyclopedia
International reactions to the 2011 Egyptian revolution
refer to external responses to the events that took place in Egypt between 25 January and 10 February 2011, as well as some of the events after the collapse of the government of Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak
, such as Mubarak's trial. The reactions have generally been either measured or supportive of the Egyptian people, with most governments and organisations calling for non-violent responses on both sides and peaceful moves towards reform. Whilst the protesters called for Mubarak to step down immediately, most foreign governments stopped short of this demand, at least during the early phases of the protests, due to realpolitik
concerns about the consequences of a power vacuum on the stability of Egypt
specifically and to the wider Middle East
as a whole. Some Middle Eastern leaders expressed support for Mubarak. Meanwhile many governments issued travel advisories
and evacuated their citizens from the country.
The protests captured worldwide attention in part due to the increasing use of Twitter
, Facebook
, YouTube
, and other social-media
platforms, which empowered activists and onlookers to communicate, coordinate, and document the events as they occur. Many countries experienced their own solidarity protests in support of the Egyptians. As the levels of meta-publicity increased, the Egyptian government stepped up efforts to limit Internet access, especially to social media. In response there has been hacktivism
, with global groups attempting to provide alternative communication methods for the Egyptians.
Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, calling himself "your brother in religion" on 4 February, said that the unrest in Egypt was an "explosion of sacred anger" and an "Islamic awakening." He called Mubarak a "traitor dictator" who committed a "great betrayal" of his people by cooperating with Israel and the United States. Khamenei told Egyptians, "Do not believe in the game which is being played by the West and America; don't believe in their role, don't believe in their political manoeuvres which are taking place in the midst of your awakening. Just a few day ago...the Americans were supporting the corrupt regime, and now after they are sick of preserving him, they are speaking about the rights of the people. They are trying to replace one spy with another...Look with doubt – always be suspicious – regarding the American role and American intervention." He added that "America's control over Egypt's leaders has...turned Egypt into the biggest enemy of Palestine and turned it into the greatest refuge for Zionists. This explosion we see among the people of Egypt is the appropriate response to this great betrayal that the traitor dictator committed against his people." On 6 February, protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square accused Iran of interfering in Egyptian affairs.
Dilma Rousseff
said, "[Brazil] hopes that Egypt becomes a democracy, leading its people to benefit from [Egyptian] development."
– Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon
said that Egypt remains an important partner for Canada and urged "the Egyptian government to ensure full freedom of political expression for its citizens." He said the Canadian government "continues to stand by the people of Egypt as they demand democratic reforms and respect for human rights. We urge the Government of Egypt to begin an immediate transition toward serious democratic reform." – A press release from the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that it is "permanently following the evolution of the events". – Colombian President
Juan Manuel Santos
asked Mubarak to ensure the situation returns to normal. He said that "[the Colombian people] moves along with the Egyptian people in search of their welfare, freedom and plain use of their human rights and trusts that Mubarak and his government would promote in a short term the return to calm and the strengthening of the democratic institutions." He told their embassy to be prepared to assist Colombian citizens in Egypt. – Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla
hoped for a positive outcome to the protests as one that "meets the interests of the Egyptian people and nation (sic
)." – US President
Barack Obama
, noting that he had spoken with the Egyptian president, stated that his first concern is preventing injury or loss of life. He remarked, "What's needed right now are concrete steps that advance the rights of the Egyptian people...Ultimately the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people. The United States will always be a committed partner to that future, with the Egyptian government, and with the Egyptian people." He recalled that in his speech in Cairo
in June 2009 he had stated, "All governments must maintain power through consent, not coercion," and called upon the Egyptian government to restore its people's access to the internet. He called on all parties to refrain from violence in their efforts to bring about a solution. He said that the Egyptian protesters have "universal" rights, including the right to peaceful assembly and association, free speech, and “the ability to determine their own destiny. [...] These are human rights and the United States will stand up for them everywhere." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs
expressed anger at the pace of change in Egypt, saying the transition should happen quickly, which he also said would determine US aid to the country. Gibbs posted a statement on Twitter
expressing concern "about violence in Egypt", adding the "government must respect the rights of the Egyptian people & turn on social networking and the internet".
reported that Ayanda Ntsaluba, the director general of international relations and cooperation, had said that the South African government
had called for Mubarak to step down.
Vishnu Prakash said, "We are closely following with concern the developments in Egypt. India has traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations with Egypt. We hope for an early and peaceful resolution of the situation without further violence and loss of lives." On 1 February the Indian Ministry of External Affairs termed the mass protests in Egypt "an articulation of the aspirations of the Egyptian people for reform" and hoped for a peaceful resolution of the situation "in the best interests of the people of Egypt". – Japanese Prime Minister
Naoto Kan
urged Mubarak to start a dialogue with his people. "I hope the regime of Egypt will restore security and peace." Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara
urged the Egyptian government to resolve the ongoing political unrest peacefully. "Japan strongly hopes the Egyptian government and the people restrain violent action and create a stable government through dialogue." – Pakistan's foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said that Pakistan is watching events in Egypt closely and is taking steps about the safety of 700 families in Egypt
. – Philippine Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte called for a peaceful end to the strife in Egypt. Valte said the Philippine government was particularly concerned about the safety of the more than 6,500 Filipinos in Egypt. "We hope for a peaceful and just resolution to the political unrest currently taking place and the swift return to stability. We are monitoring the situation and our embassy in Cairo has contingencies in place and is prepared to relocate our citizens to safer areas. As always, the safety of our citizens is the paramount concern and we are doing what we can to anticipate and address their needs." – On 15 February the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
cautiously welcomed the political changes in a statement: "Sri Lanka
and Egypt enjoy warm and close ties. It is in this context that Sri Lanka wishes for the people of Egypt progress and stability within a democratic framework of governance," and "The government of Sri Lanka welcomes the smooth and peaceful transition of power in Egypt". - the President of the Republic of China Ma Ying-jeou
"hopes to see the rapid establishment of democracy in Egypt in accordance with the people’s will", according to Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang. Also, according to the director of Department of African Affairs of the ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Samuel Chen, the Republic of China welcomes the coming of democracy in Egypt and hopes to "enhance bilateral exchanges."
Michael Spindelegger
condemned the violence. "It is more necessary than ever for talks to be started without delay between the opposition and the government in order to prevent the situation from getting further out of control. This also entails calling those responsible for acts of violence to account, and swiftly." — Belarussian Foreign Ministry
Press Secretary Andrei Savinykh declared: "We are convinced that street clashes and violence is a bad way to solve pressing social and community issues. We urge the parties to solve existing problems peacefully in line with international legal norms [at] a negotiating table." — In a statement released on 27 January, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere
and Minister of Civil Service, Public Enterprises and Institutional Reforms deplored the deaths. He hopes that the protest will strengthen the process of democratisation and socio-economic reform in Egypt. He pointed out the importance of freedom of speech and media. — The Foreign Ministry condemned the violent response to the protests, and expressed condolences for the deaths. — Mario Dragun, spokesman of the Croatian Foreign Ministry, said: "We hope that the violence will cease and democratic dialogue will ensue so that the crisis could be resolved and the political, economic and social reforms carried out with full respect for the basic human."
— Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen
called the protesters brave, and urged Mubarak to leave as quickly as possible. Minister for Foreign Affairs Lene Espersen
strongly condemned the alleged Egyptian authorities' actions against the protests.
— Prime Minister Francois Fillon
's office said that France would be ceasing arms and tear gas sales to Egypt. Controversy arose over Fillon's links to the Mubarak regime, as he admitted having been a guest of Mubarak over the Christmas holiday at Egypt's expense. President Nicolas Sarkozy
responded to the allegations by telling his ministers to take their holidays in France more often, saying "What was commonplace a few years back can prove shocking nowadays." — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged its citizens to get out of Egypt. — Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle
said he was "very concerned" and called on all involved to show restraint. Later Angela Merkel
called upon all involved, and especially the Egyptian government and the president, to allow peaceful demonstrations, to give freedom of opinion a chance. "We have to come to a peaceful dialogue in Egypt because the stability of the country is of extraordinary importance." — The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on 30 January that it plans to evacuate its citizens from Egypt. — Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
said that he hoped for "continuity in the government" as Western leaders wanted a "more democratic system without ruptures with a president like Mubarak that all the Western hemisphere, including the U.S., had considered the wisest man and a reference point in all of the Middle East." He played down the scale of the protests by saying that there were "really few" demonstrators out of a population of 80 million.
— The Foreign Ministry condemned the violence and use of force against the protests. Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Egypt has to respect human rights and civic liberties. — Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez
said that the EU supports the "people who are in the street". "We support the claiming in the street for more reforms and more rights". — Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
stated in an interview that he hopes for an eventual democratic Egypt but fears what might happen instead, saying that a reformed Egypt with a harsher attitude towards Israel would be very destabilising for the region.
Joint statements
A joint statement by British Prime Minister
David Cameron
, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
and German Chancellor
Angela Merkel
read:
On 3 February the three were joined by Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi
and Spanish Prime Minister
Jose Luis Zapatero in issuing another statement: "Only a quick and orderly transition to a broad-based government will make it possible to overcome the challenges Egypt is now facing. That transition process must start now."
— On 10 February former Prime Minister of Ukraine
Yulia Tymoshenko
said that Egypt can learn from the Orange Revolution
about how to amend the constitution to establish a civil society after a peaceful revolution, and not repeat the mistakes of Ukraine.
Julia Gillard
announced "the time for change has come" and that "I absolutely condemn this violence." — On 5 February Minister of Foreign Affairs
Murray McCully
condemned the violence against the protesters and expressed concern over the targeting of foreign journalists. "Reports that foreign journalists, including New Zealanders, have been targeted is extremely concerning and directly violates fundamental freedoms."
in solidarity and in hope that the two countries' "revolutions" would spark a chain of events around the Arab world. Tunisia's Progressive Democratic Party
said that Egypt had "called in the hour of change for an end to injustice and dictatorship. The Egyptian people supported the Tunisian people's revolution. Our heart is with you and our voices never cease to pray for victory." There was a demonstration outside the Egyptian embassy in Doha
, Qatar
. There were protests in Lebanon warning of the spread of the protests. On 25 January a march held in Gaza
in solidarity with the protests was suppressed by Hamas. Police officers dressed in civilian clothing arrested six women and detained some 20 others, according to Human Rights Watch
.
In Syria a peaceful demonstration was held on 29 January in front of the Egyptian embassy in Damascus to protest against the killing of protesters by Egyptian police. Syrian security forces were deployed around the embassy and blocked demonstrators from reaching it. Arab Israelis held rallies in solidarity with the Egyptian protesters.
On 28 January between 200 and 400 protesters held demonstrations outside the Fatih Mosque
(where political activism has become more common since the Gaza flotilla raid
) after the Friday prayer in Istanbul. A small leftist group gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in Ankara
, Turkey. Iranian students gathered in front of the Egypt's Interest Section in Tehran
on 30 January to support the uprisings in Egypt. According to IRNA, the students, shouting slogans such as "Down with US, Down with Israel, Down with UK and down with Hosni Mubarak," condemned the Egyptian government's measures to confront protesters. The students demanded that the Iranian government shut down Egypt's Interest Section in Iran.
On 28 January Egyptians living in Canada
and others gathered at the embassy in Ottawa as well as the consulate in Montreal
. The next day, Canadians in Toronto
, Montreal
, Vancouver
, and other cities peacefully demonstrated in support of the uprising, criticising the Canadian government's cautious and generic response. On 29 January in Dearborn, Michigan
, 300 people expressed their solidarity for the Egyptian people. Around 150 protesters demonstrated in solidarity with the Egyptian people in Nashville, Tennessee
.
The Egyptian embassy in Venezuela was temporarily taken over by Venezuelans of Egyptian descent, an action which was condemned by President Hugo Chavez
.
Egyptians in Ireland and members of the Irish Anti-War Movement
held a protest outside the embassy in Dublin on 28 January to "show solidarity for the people in Egypt to say to them that we are behind you and we support you."
In London, fifty protesters outside the Egyptian embassy called for Mubarak's regime to resign. In Frankfurt
, Germany
, a small group protested on 29 January in the main pedestrian zone, the Zeil
, to show their support for the Egyptian people. In Munich
, Germans joined the Egyptians in a demonstration in Odeonsplatz
asking Mubarak to leave. In The Hague
, The Netherlands, 200 people protested in front of the Peace Palace
against the regime of Mubarak.
on 31 January in India's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityEgypt Solidarity Forum (ESF)organized a solidarity march in which some 500 students and faculty members participated. The march was addressed by Professor A K Ramakrishnan, a distinguished faculty of School of International Studies at the university. Convener of the solidarity forum Omair Anas told that “We believe that Egyptian people are victims of their own rulers as well as their Western masters. Hosni Mubarak has protected interests of capitalists, multinationals and his Western masters, mainly the United States. On the next day, Forum called to join mass demonstration at Embassy of Egypt in New Delhi where thousands of students from different student organizations joined the demonstrated against the Mubarak regime and some protesters including convener of the Egypt Solidarity Forum were detained by the Delhi Police. Egypt Solidarity Forum had also launched a Facebook campaign and an online petition to support Casablanca call for political reform was also launched.
In South Africa
, on 4 February, approximately 300 demonstrators blocked Bourke Street, the location of the Egyptian embassy in Pretoria
, in peaceful protests organised by South African trade unions, human rights groups, and Egyptians in South Africa. The demonstrators shouted slogans such as "out with Mubarak" in English, Afrikaans
, Zulu
, and Arabic
.
On 9 February in Ukraine
, FEMEN
activists organised a topless protest in front of the Egyptian embassy in Kiev
.
flight on 30 January to bring back its citizens, most of them students and embassy staff. An employee of the Azerbaijani embassy in Egypt was killed in Cairo on the same day as a result of mass public disorder. The Prime Minister announced that a chartered jet would be available to evacuate Australian nationals, and that extra consular staff will be provided. Two Qantas 747
flights from Cairo International Airport
removed Australian citizens to Frankfurt on 2 February and 4 February at government expense. Since many people were unable to reach Cairo quickly, another flight from Luxor
was considered. The Brazilian embassy discouraged any trips to Egypt until the situation returns to normal and started evacuating Brazilians in the country. The Brunei government had evacuated all of their 97 citizens out of Egypt via Dubai on a specially chartered flight. launched an evacuation plan to evacuate citizens from Egypt using Air Canada
charter flights contracted by the Government of Canada
to Frankfurt
, London, and Paris. Approximately 6,500 Canadian citizens in Egypt are expected to reimburse the cost of the plane tickets to Europe and self-arrange for an ongoing flight back to Canada. Conflicting reports suggested that the government was willing to subsidise C$400 off ticket prices and organise flights out of the country. However, the government was unsure of how many citizens would take advantage of the offer. "The government is recommending that Canadians leave Egypt," Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon
announced. "... The situation is deteriorating, the situation is not under control." was prepared to receive foreign citizens evacuated from Cairo. Cyprus It advised its citizens currently in Egypt to avoid areas where demonstrations were being staged. organised a 200-seater Finnair
Airbus
to evacuate the approximately 150 Finnish citizens living in Egypt. According to Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, the greatest challenge was to gather all Finns into one place to be evacuated. Finland allowed nationals of other countries to take vacant seats on the evacuation flights. sent a special commercial Air India
flight on 30 January to bring back its citizens who wanted to return home. Some of the 3,600-odd Indians who live in Egypt had expressed an interest in returning. called for the quick evacuation of all Indonesian citizens in Egypt, most of whom were studying at Al-Azhar University
, by charter flights from Garuda Indonesia
. — The Department of Foreign Affairs said that as of 3 February it had "given assistance to approximately 400 Irish citizens [in Egypt]." evacuated tourists and people who worked in Egypt with two flights.
offered to transport its citizens in Egypt, many of whom fled as a result of the war, back to Baghdad
for free. The Foreign Ministry advised their citizens to stay away from places of tension and offered to evacuate their citizens with three military aircraft.
As of 3 February, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs
advised Irish
citizens to immediately leave Egypt and advised against travel to Egypt.
advised its citizens to refrain from non-essential travel to Egypt. It later called on all its citizens holidaying in the Sinai to return home.
Greece
called for its citizens to be evacuated.
Thousands of Saudi and Egyptian passengers were stranded at the Cairo, Jeddah and Riyadh airports. Turkey sent two aircraft to pick up its stranded citizens.
On 2 February the Malaysian government announced plan to evacuate its citizens. The plan, code-named "Operation Pyramid" (Malay: Operasi Piramid) was supported by three Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 Hercules
planes, a Royal Malaysian Navy
auxiliary ship, which was stationed at Gulf of Aden
. Malaysian flag carrier Malaysia Airlines
and low-cost carrier AirAsia
later announced their support of the evacuation mission and sent aircraft to Egypt. The first evacuees were expected to arrive on 4 February.
On 31 January the New Zealand government warned its citizens to avoid all areas with protests.
President Goodluck Jonathan
recommended that all Nigerians evacuate from Egypt. Nigeria then dispatched a team to assist its citizens in leaving the country.
's government created an emergency team within the Foreign Ministry to form a plan for evacuating 25,000 Russian nationals. It had earlier recommended that tourists stay in their hotels and not leave the guarded resort areas.
Two major Russian oil and gas companies, Lukoil
and Novatek
, evacuated their staff from Egypt on 30 January.
The Kosovo Foreign Ministry urged Kosovars to leave Egypt. In the absence of diplomatic relations between the two states, citizens in distress were instructed to seek help from the Turkish embassy. The chairman of the New Kosovo Alliance
Behgjet Pacolli
organised flights back to Kosovo for some 160-odd Kosovas at his own expense.
On 3 February a Slovak government aircraft brought 34 Slovaks, eight Czechs, one Hungarian, and two Portuguese citizens, who were living and working in Cairo and Hurghada
, to Slovakia.
's flag carrier, Korean Air
, suspended flights to Egypt on 30 January. The Foreign Ministry suspended classes at the Korean School, which had an attendance of some forty elementary school students. The South Korean embassy put together an emergency plan to evacuate Korean nationals in the event of a serious crisis.
Until 30 January, the British government had advised its citizens to stay put (although advising against non-essential travel). However, the advice was then revised to say "We recommend that British nationals without a pressing need to be in Cairo, Alexandria or Suez leave by commercial means, where it is safe to do so." The Foreign Ministry recommendation that citizens in other parts of the country not affected by widespread protests and violence stay where they are and stay indoors.
The US advised its citizens to take evacuation flights to safe havens in Europe. It later warned its citizens to leave "as soon as possible". It offered to send a plane to evacuate embassy personnel to reduce its "diplomatic footprint" in the country.
Others
Multinational corporation
s said they would evacuate their employees.
said that "the EU has failed to manage its response to the events in Egypt."
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof said that "it should be increasingly evident that Mr. Mubarak is not the remedy for instability in Egypt; he is its cause. The road to stability in Egypt requires Mr. Mubarak's departure, immediately." On 7 February, during the first show after a return from Egypt, CNN
reporter Anderson Cooper
, who had twice been beaten by pro-Mubarak protesters, criticised the government on his nightly show. He said that Mubarak's regime has "blood on its hands" and is lying to the world about its actions. He called Egypt a police state and accused the government of saying "the direct opposite of what they have been doing." He cited the government's claim of reaching out to the opposition even though "his secret police were still arresting opposition figures." He further said that while the government has denied being involved in the violence directed at protesters, the military had been conspicuously slow to react to the targeting of demonstrators by pro-Mubarak forces.
Writing for the Saturday Mirror on 6 August, former Nigeria
n head of state Olusegun Obasanjo criticised the handling of the Mubaraks' trial and defended the deposed president. "I am not saying that Mubarak has not made a mistake in his almost thirty years in running the affairs of Egypt or that he has not committed any misdemeanour or offence, but decency demands that in bringing him to judgment, the good he has done should be brought side by side with the mistakes he has made and if this is done objectively, I am of the mind that the good will outweigh the mistakes," Obasanjo wrote.
said that "[w]hat’s happening is absolutely spectacular. The courage and determination and commitment of the demonstrators is remarkable, and whatever happens these are moments that won’t be forgotten and are sure to have long-term consequences." He later added in an article in The Guardian that:
Tariq Ali
said the protests would be a "rude awakening for all those who imagined that the despots of the Arab world could be kept in place provided they continued to serve the needs of the West." He said that "while Western establishments lull themselves to sleep with fairy tales, ordinary citizens, who are defeated and demoralised, mull their revenge." He added that "If Tunisia was a tremor, the Egyptian uprising has become an earthquake that is spreading throughout the region. The generals in Cairo are still refusing to disperse the crowds with tanks and bullets. A full-scale Tiananmen Square option, which Mubarak and his friends would have appreciated, becomes difficult in these conditions."
Ralph Nader
said that Vice-President Omar Suleiman appeared to be making the decisions, if only to give the impression that Mubarak was relenting and would be willing to remain as a figurehead president until his term ends later in the year. He believes that Mubarak was very alert to what would be needed to maintain the loyalties of the police, the intelligence agencies, the security forces and the army and that when is forced out tens of thousands of those on his payroll would lose their patronage. Nader stated that "the government is striving to wait out the protesters, whose daily supplies and energies are being sapped by the overwhelming force arrayed against them to intimidate, weaken and keep their numbers down not just in [Tahrir] Square but also in other cities like Alexandria and Suez."
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
refer to external responses to the events that took place in Egypt between 25 January and 10 February 2011, as well as some of the events after the collapse of the government of Egyptian President
President of Egypt
The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the head of state of Egypt.Under the Constitution of Egypt, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government....
Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
, such as Mubarak's trial. The reactions have generally been either measured or supportive of the Egyptian people, with most governments and organisations calling for non-violent responses on both sides and peaceful moves towards reform. Whilst the protesters called for Mubarak to step down immediately, most foreign governments stopped short of this demand, at least during the early phases of the protests, due to realpolitik
Realpolitik
Realpolitik refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or ethical premises...
concerns about the consequences of a power vacuum on the stability of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
specifically and to the wider Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
as a whole. Some Middle Eastern leaders expressed support for Mubarak. Meanwhile many governments issued travel advisories
Travel advisory
A travel advisory is a public notice issued by a government agency to provide information about the relative safety of travelling to or visiting one or more specific foreign destinations...
and evacuated their citizens from the country.
The protests captured worldwide attention in part due to the increasing use of Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, and other social-media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
platforms, which empowered activists and onlookers to communicate, coordinate, and document the events as they occur. Many countries experienced their own solidarity protests in support of the Egyptians. As the levels of meta-publicity increased, the Egyptian government stepped up efforts to limit Internet access, especially to social media. In response there has been hacktivism
Hacktivism
Hacktivism is the use of computers and computer networks as a means of protest to promote political ends. The term was first coined in 1994 by a member of the Cult of the Dead Cow hacker collective named Omega...
, with global groups attempting to provide alternative communication methods for the Egyptians.
Supranational bodies
- African UnionAfrican UnionThe African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
(AU) – The African Union urged Mubarak to respond to the mass protests with reforms. AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra called on Mubarak to bring in reforms in response to the unrest. "We believe that there are changes that are necessary in order to respond to the wishes of the people, economic reforms, social measures,and probably also issues related to the governement that need to be addressed." – Amr MoussaAmr MoussaAmr Mohammed Moussa is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the Secretary-General of the Arab League, a 22-member forum representing Arab states, from 1 June 2001 until 1 June 2011. He is a candidate in the 2011 Egyptian presidential election....
, the head of the Arab League, said he wanted to see a multi-party democracy emerge but did not say how soon. Speaking to the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's The World This WeekendThe World This WeekendThe World This Weekend was launched on 17 September 1967. It is a weekly news and current affairs programme broadcast from 1pm to 1:30pm on BBC Radio 4 every Sunday, essentially the Sunday version of The World at One....
, the former Egyptian Foreign Minister said that Mubarak needed to respond to the protests with actual reform, rather than just reshuffling ministers. "This new government should be just the beginning, just a new prime minister and new ministers does not necessarily mean a change, clear lines of policy will have to be declared." – The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Egyptian authorities should listen to their people, deal with their problems, and respect their right to demonstrate. She urged the "Egyptian authorities to respect and to protect the right of Egyptian citizens to manifest their political aspirations". – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moonBan Ki-moonBan Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
said that world leaders should see the Egyptian protests as a chance to address "legitimate concerns" of the Egyptian people. He urged local authorities to refrain from violence. The High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that most of the frustration and angst has been caused by the emergency laws and urged the government to allow access to the Internet and mobile services. She said measures should be taken to guarantee rights of peaceful assembly and expression.
Middle East
– Iranian Supreme LeaderSupreme Leader of Iran
The Supreme Leader of Iran is the highest ranking political and religious authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The post was established by the constitution in accordance with the concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists...
Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, calling himself "your brother in religion" on 4 February, said that the unrest in Egypt was an "explosion of sacred anger" and an "Islamic awakening." He called Mubarak a "traitor dictator" who committed a "great betrayal" of his people by cooperating with Israel and the United States. Khamenei told Egyptians, "Do not believe in the game which is being played by the West and America; don't believe in their role, don't believe in their political manoeuvres which are taking place in the midst of your awakening. Just a few day ago...the Americans were supporting the corrupt regime, and now after they are sick of preserving him, they are speaking about the rights of the people. They are trying to replace one spy with another...Look with doubt – always be suspicious – regarding the American role and American intervention." He added that "America's control over Egypt's leaders has...turned Egypt into the biggest enemy of Palestine and turned it into the greatest refuge for Zionists. This explosion we see among the people of Egypt is the appropriate response to this great betrayal that the traitor dictator committed against his people." On 6 February, protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square accused Iran of interfering in Egyptian affairs.
-
- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar SalehiAli Akbar SalehiAli Akbar Salehi is an Iranian politician, diplomat and academic and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs since 13 December 2010. Previous to his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran from 16 July 2009 to 13 December 2010...
hoped that the Egyptians' "high aims, national demands and resurrection of their glory could be achieved in the very near future." Iranian Ministry of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Iran)The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an Iranian government ministry. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the Cabinet member in charge....
spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called on Egypt to "abide by the rightful demands of the nation." There were "solidarity" protests outside the Egyptian interests section. - Iranian parliament speaker Ali LarijaniAli LarijaniAli Ardashir Larijani is an Iranian philosopher, politician and the chairman of the Iranian parliament. Larijani was the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from August 15, 2005 to October 20, 2007, appointed to the position by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,replacing Hassan Rowhani...
said, "The voice of the brave people of Egypt is the voice of revolution. The start of this revolution has astonished the despotic regimes of the region. The parliament supports the uprising of the Tunisian and Egyptian people." He described the protests as "the revolution of the noble." Iran backed the protests. Parliament speaker Ali LarijaniAli LarijaniAli Ardashir Larijani is an Iranian philosopher, politician and the chairman of the Iranian parliament. Larijani was the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from August 15, 2005 to October 20, 2007, appointed to the position by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,replacing Hassan Rowhani...
called the uprising the "revolution of the noble". He compared Western reaction to the protests with their reaction to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
- Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi KarroubiMehdi KarroubiMehdi Karroubi is an influential Iranian reformist politician, democracy activist, mojtahed, and chairman of the National Trust Party. He was Chairman of the parliament from 1989 to 1992 and 2000 to 2004, and a presidential candidate in the 2005 and 2009 presidential elections.He is a founding...
, former presidential candidates and the leaders of the Green Movement, released a statement from their virtual house arrestHouse arrestIn justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
in Tehran, assuring the Egyptians, "No power can suppress the people's will and demand. Sooner or later, autocratic and tyrant power[s] are sentenced to vanish." – Prime Minister Nouri al-MalikiNouri al-MalikiNouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...
stated, "The people have the right to express what they want without being persecuted... One of the characteristics of a lack of democracy is when a leader rules for 30 or 40 years. It is a difficult issue for people, it is intolerable and change is necessary."
- The Iraqi Foreign Ministry wished Egypt and its citizens "progress and prosperity." – President Shimon PeresShimon PeresGCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
said Mubarak's "contribution to peace will never be forgotten. I thank him for saving many people's lives by preventing war. The biggest problem isn't changing the government but changing the face of a country as poor as Egypt." He added concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood: "Elections in Egypt are dangerous. Should the Muslim Brotherhood be elected they will not bring peace. Democracy without peace is not a democracy. We fear there will be a change in government without a change in the circumstances which led to this state." - Israeli Prime MinisterPrime Minister of IsraelThe Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
Benjamin NetanyahuBenjamin NetanyahuBenjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
and the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced on 28 January that they are keeping a close track of the situation in neighbouring Egypt, but are refraining from taking a political stance. Ministers were told to refrain from commenting due to the sensitive nature of relations. - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told European diplomats at the KnessetKnessetThe Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
that the root cause of the unrest was internal problems. "Whoever thinks that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is part of the problems in the Middle East is trying to escape reality. [The] big picture of the Middle East shows that major points of contention stem from challenges and confrontations within Islamic society. The Arab world is becoming increasingly weakened. At the end of the day, it is clear to everyone, even to the Palestinian Authority, that the greatest danger they are facing is not Zionism, but rather Hamas and Jihad." During the early days of the protests, the Foreign Ministry was receiving updates every few hours and Lieberman was in close contact with the Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Yitzhak Levanon. The Ministry was concerned over "substantial" changes in the regime. The Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported that security officials anonymously expressed concern that the violence could threaten ties with Egypt, and spread to the Palestinian Authority. The government was said to be pressuring the US to postpone a plan for Mubarak's departure so that it could prepare for any likely outcome.
- Binyamin Ben-EliezerBinyamin Ben-EliezerBinyamin Fuad Ben-Eliezer , , born 12 February 1936) is an Israeli politician and former military officer of Iraqi origin. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party, and has held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour, Minister of...
, a Labor member of the Knesset (MK), said that "all we can do is express our" support for Mubarak and hope the riots pass quietly. He said Mubarak "had very tough things to say about the United States. [Mubarak] gave me a lesson in democracy and said: 'We see the democracy the United States spearheaded in Iran and with Hamas, in Gaza, and that's the fate of the Middle East. They may be talking about democracy but they don't know what they're talking about and the result will be extremism and radical Islam.'" According to him Mubarak realised "it was the end of the Mubarak era." - MK Ibrahim SarsurIbrahim SarsurSheikh Ibrahim Sarsur is an Israeli Arab politician and member of the Knesset for the United Arab List, of which he is the party leader.-Biography:...
, who leads the United Arab ListUnited Arab ListThe United Arab List , commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Ra'am , is a political party representing and supported by Israeli Arabs...
, expressed "full support for the protesters in Egypt. The Arab police statePolice stateA police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
s have given their peoples no other option but to take to the streets for a people’s revolution to topple the suppressing regimes and to free themselves from the control of dictators." - Former ambassador to Egypt Eli Shaked said that "there can be no doubt that the new regime will seek to deal the peace with Israel a very public blow. The only people in Egypt who are committed to peace are the people in Mubarak's inner circle." – Jordan's King Abdullah II "wished the brotherly country of Egypt security, stability and progress." – Kuwait's Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-SabahSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-SabahSheikh Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is the Emir of Kuwait. Sheikh Sabah was sworn in on January 29, 2006 after confirmation by the National Assembly of Kuwait. He is the fourth son of Emir Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Sheikh Sabah is the head of the ruling Al-Sabah family...
condemned the riots and affirmed Kuwait 's support to the Egyptian government and people. In a phone call to Mubarak, Sheikh Sabah expressed the State of Kuwait's condemnation of all acts of "riots, looting and sabotage" that terrified the citizens and undermined the security and stability of Egypt. Sheikh Sabah said he was confident the "Egyptian brothers" would overcome this "critical" phase to reach security and stability. – Hezbollah Secretary-GeneralSecretary-General-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...
Hassan NasrallahHassan NasrallahHasan Nasrallah, became the third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Hezbollah in its entirety is considered a terrorist organization by The United States, the Netherlands,...
said he supports the rights of the protesters, while he condemned external influences. He praised the struggle, saying victory would "entirely change the face of our region for the interest of its own people, especially in Palestine. The US came to bring down this regime, which was a faithful friend in ensuring US interests. If we listen to the Americans from both parties – DemocratsDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and RepublicansRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
– does it make sense that the US would try to bring down [Mubarak] as we saw in the 1979 revolution in Iran? The Americans are riding the wave, trying to contain the uprising while attempting to improve their loathsome image in our world and present themselves as protectors of nations and their freedoms after decades where they got into bed with the worst dictators in the region. The US government carried out surveys in our region in order to see what people think, what they want and what they don't want. The answers were clear. The overwhelming majority is hostile towards the US policy and rejects it for its absolute slant towards Israel." He called out Israel for "putting pressure on every political circle in the world to protect Mubarak's regime" and stated that the "protests will push out [the] regime that has maintained peace with Israel." His comments were rebuked by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, which said that he is "walking in the footsteps of his mentor", a reference to Khameini. It accused both leaders of wanting "to ignite the region." – Libyan Leader Muammar al-GaddafiMuammar al-GaddafiMuammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, during a telephone conversation with Mubarak, expressed confidence in the stability of Egyptian society and preserving the gains Egypt has achieved. He expressed his wishes for the completion of Egypt's march towards the greater good and progress for its people and to continue its central role in the defence of issues of the nation. On 23 July, months after the revolution and amidst a widespread uprising2011 Libyan civil warThe 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
in his own country, Gaddafi criticized the revolutionaries in an audio address: "After you looted, destroyed and damaged the country, you want a new president?" He said Mubarak "should be honored" and that he should not have been removed from power and suggested the revolution was meaningless. – Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National AuthorityThe Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
President Mahmoud AbbasMahmoud AbbasMahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
telephoned Mubarak to express his support. - HamasHamasHamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
said the border with Egypt was calm. The border was closed.- The Gaza-Egypt RafahRafahRafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
border crossing was also closed during the protests. On 9 February continuing protests in Egypt threatened the supply of petrol into the Gaza stripGaza Stripthumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
.
- The Gaza-Egypt Rafah
- The Popular Front for the Liberation of PalestinePopular Front for the Liberation of PalestineThe Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
(PFLP) declared its solidarity with the protesters and called for socialSocial revolutionThe term social revolution may have different connotations depending on the speaker.In the Trotskyist movement, the term "social revolution" refers to an upheaval in which existing property relations are smashed...
and political revolutionPolitical revolutionA political revolution, in the Trotskyist theory, is an upheaval in which the government is replaced, or the form of government altered, but in which property relations are predominantly left intact...
in Egypt. – Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul-AzizAbdullah of Saudi ArabiaAbdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. When Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1998 to 2005...
expressed support for Mubarak. "No Arab or Muslim can tolerate any meddling in the security and stability of Arab and Muslim Egypt by those who infiltrated the people in the name of freedom of expression, exploiting it to inject their destructive hatred. As they condemn this, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people and government declares it stands with all its resources with the government of Egypt and its people." He condemned the "people who tried to destabilise the security and stability of Egypt."
- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi
Americas
– On 31 January PresidentPresident of Brazil
The president of Brazil is both the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Brazilian Armed Forces...
Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Vana Rousseff is the 36th and current President of Brazil. She is the first woman to hold the office. Prior to that, in 2005, she was also the first woman to become Chief of Staff of Brazil, appointed by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva....
said, "[Brazil] hopes that Egypt becomes a democracy, leading its people to benefit from [Egyptian] development."
-
- The Ministry of External RelationsMinistry of External Relations (Brazil)The Ministry of External Relations conducts Brazil's foreign relations with other countries. It is commonly referred to in Brazilian media and diplomatic jargon as the Itamaraty, after the palace which hosts the ministry...
issued a statement on 1 February calling for a "political evolution that meets the expectations of their people in a peaceful environment, bereft of foreign interference, so as to foster the ongoing economic and social development" and pointed out that "Egypt is an important MercosurMercosurMercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
partner". The arrest of two Brazilian journalists in Cairo on 2 February prompted the Ministry of External Relations to raise its tone in remarks about the political crisis in Egypt. it "deplore[d] the violent clashes [and] denounce[d] the arrests of Brazilian journalists Corban Costa, from Rádio NacionalRádio Nacional-Rádio Nacional broadcasters:*Rádio Nacional Brasília - Brasília - 980 kHz*Rádio Nacional FM Brasília - Brasília - 96.1 MHz*Rádio Nacional Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro - 1130 kHz*Rádio MEC AM Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro - 800Kz...
, and Gilvan Rocha, from TV BrasilTV BrasilTV Brasil is a Brazilian non-profit public broadcasting television network launched on December 2, 2007 at noon. Although TV Cultura was the first public broadcasting channel in the country, TV Brasil is the first launched by the federal government.-History:...
, and expects that Egyptian authorities take the appropriate measures to uphold the civil liberties and to protect the population at large and the foreigners on the ground from bodily harm."
- The Ministry of External Relations
– Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon
Lawrence Cannon
Lawrence Cannon, PC is a Canadian politician from Quebec and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former Quebec lieutenant. On October 30, 2008 he was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs...
said that Egypt remains an important partner for Canada and urged "the Egyptian government to ensure full freedom of political expression for its citizens." He said the Canadian government "continues to stand by the people of Egypt as they demand democratic reforms and respect for human rights. We urge the Government of Egypt to begin an immediate transition toward serious democratic reform." – A press release from the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that it is "permanently following the evolution of the events". – Colombian President
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who has been the President of Colombia since 7 August 2010. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of National Defense.-Career:...
asked Mubarak to ensure the situation returns to normal. He said that "[the Colombian people] moves along with the Egyptian people in search of their welfare, freedom and plain use of their human rights and trusts that Mubarak and his government would promote in a short term the return to calm and the strengthening of the democratic institutions." He told their embassy to be prepared to assist Colombian citizens in Egypt. – Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla
Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla is a Cuban diplomat and politician. He is presently the Foreign Minister of Cuba. He was his country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1995 to 2003. Rodríguez Parrilla was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on March 2, 2009, replacing...
hoped for a positive outcome to the protests as one that "meets the interests of the Egyptian people and nation (sic
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
)." – US President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, noting that he had spoken with the Egyptian president, stated that his first concern is preventing injury or loss of life. He remarked, "What's needed right now are concrete steps that advance the rights of the Egyptian people...Ultimately the future of Egypt will be determined by the Egyptian people. The United States will always be a committed partner to that future, with the Egyptian government, and with the Egyptian people." He recalled that in his speech in Cairo
A New Beginning
"A New Beginning" is the name of a speech delivered by United States President Barack Obama on June 4, 2009, from the Major Reception Hall at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt. Al-Azhar University co-hosted the event...
in June 2009 he had stated, "All governments must maintain power through consent, not coercion," and called upon the Egyptian government to restore its people's access to the internet. He called on all parties to refrain from violence in their efforts to bring about a solution. He said that the Egyptian protesters have "universal" rights, including the right to peaceful assembly and association, free speech, and “the ability to determine their own destiny. [...] These are human rights and the United States will stand up for them everywhere." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs
Robert Gibbs
Robert Lane Gibbs was the 28th White House Press Secretary. Gibbs was the communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Obama's 2008 presidential campaign...
expressed anger at the pace of change in Egypt, saying the transition should happen quickly, which he also said would determine US aid to the country. Gibbs posted a statement on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
expressing concern "about violence in Egypt", adding the "government must respect the rights of the Egyptian people & turn on social networking and the internet".
-
- US Vice PresidentVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Joseph Biden said Hosni Mubarak "has been an ally of ours in a number of things. And he’s been very responsible on, relative to geopolitical interest in the region, the Middle East peace efforts: the actions Egypt has taken relative to normalising relationship with Israel." - US Secretary of StateUnited States Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Clinton said, "The Egyptian government has an important opportunity to be responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people, and pursue political, economic and social reforms that can improve their lives and help Egypt prosper." She told Al Jazeera that Mubarak has been an ally of the US in the past because he has maintained the peace treaty with Israel in maintaining stability. She said the US supports an "orderly transition." On 8 March Clinton said Egypt's transition to democracy would be incomplete if women were not equal partners with men in creating the new society. She criticised the lack of women involved in efforts to draft a new constitution, saying in part, "The women in Egypt and TunisiaTunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and other nations have just as much right as the men to remake their governments – to make them responsive, accountable, transparent." - On 26 January US Ambassador to EgyptUnited States Ambassador to EgyptThis is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Egypt.The United States first established diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1848, when President James K. Polk appointed Daniel Smith McCauley as the first envoy to Egypt with the title Consul General...
Margaret ScobeyMargaret ScobeyMargaret Scobey is an American diplomat, and the United States Ambassador to Egypt. -Biography:She graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1967. She earned her B.A. and M.A. of History from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville...
commented, "we call on the Egyptian authorities to allow peaceful public demonstrations". - Frank G. WisnerFrank G. WisnerFrank George Wisner II is an American businessman and former diplomat. He is the son of Frank Wisner . On 31 January 2011, he was sent to Egypt by President Barack Obama to negotiate a resolution to the popular protests against the regime that have swept the country...
, a former United States ambassador to Egypt, was appointed a special envoy to Egypt during the protests. On 5 February, he said that it is important for Mubarak stay in power for now in order to ease a transition to democracy. He said the constitution of EgyptConstitution of EgyptThe Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt was the fundamental law of Egypt. It was adopted on September 11, 1971 through a public referendum. It was later amended in 1980, 2005 and 2007. It was proclaimed to update the democratic representative system in assertion of the rule of law,...
calls for an election to be held within two months of Mubarak's resignation, and implied that this would not be sufficient time for pro-democracy forces to make themselves known to the Egyptian people.
- NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
gave Essam Mohamed Haji, a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion LaboratoryJet Propulsion LaboratoryJet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
, permission to write the name of Sally Zahran, who was beaten to death at Tahrir Square, on a spacecraft headed to Mars. – President Hugo ChavezHugo ChávezHugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
spoke with his Syrian and Libyan counterparts, Bashar al-AssadBashar al-AssadBashar al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Al-Assad was elected in 2000, re-elected in 2007, unopposed each time.- Early Life :...
and Muammar Gaddafi, about the political crisis. He told them that Venezuela backs a "peaceful solution." He said he "trust[s] that the situation will find on its own the road to harmony, justice and wellbeing."
- US Vice President
Africa
– The National Conscience Party chairman Femi Falana asked Mubarak to resign. "We welcome the unfolding revolution and the demonstration of peoples’ power against bad governance, corruption, poverty, and oppression...We strongly condemn the violence and repression by the Mubarak-led government...Violence against Egyptians should stop. President Mubarak must resign now, and listen to the voices of millions of Egyptians who are demanding a change for a better future. Using excessive force to crackdown on peaceful protests and torturing protesters are grave breaches of international human rights law, and the African Union must publicly condemn the practice. The AU must side with the Egyptian people if it is to show that it is completely different from the defunct Organization of African Unity, whose sole purpose was to defend African dictators and not the African peoples." – On 4 February, the Mail & GuardianMail & Guardian
The Mail & Guardian is a South African weekly newspaper, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a strong focus on politics, government, the environment, civil society and business.- The Mail & Guardian newspaper :...
reported that Ayanda Ntsaluba, the director general of international relations and cooperation, had said that the South African government
Government of South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a nearly unique system that combines aspects of parliamentary and presidential systems. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa...
had called for Mubarak to step down.
Asia
– Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei stated "Egypt is a friendly country towards China. China follows the situation in Egypt and hopes it will maintain social stability and normal order" at a 27 January press conference. Al Jazeera reported that the Chinese government blocked searches of "Egypt" from its most-popular microblogging website, and restricted coverage of the Egyptian protests in the state media. Bloggers in China, however, have disproved this. – Joint secretary and spokesperson of the Ministry of External AffairsMinistry of External Affairs (India)
The Ministry of External Affairs is the foreign ministry of India. It is the Indian government agency responsible for the foreign relations of India. The Minister of External Affairs holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers. The current minister is S M Krishna...
Vishnu Prakash said, "We are closely following with concern the developments in Egypt. India has traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations with Egypt. We hope for an early and peaceful resolution of the situation without further violence and loss of lives." On 1 February the Indian Ministry of External Affairs termed the mass protests in Egypt "an articulation of the aspirations of the Egyptian people for reform" and hoped for a peaceful resolution of the situation "in the best interests of the people of Egypt". – Japanese Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Naoto Kan
Naoto Kan
is a Japanese politician, and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010, then-Finance Minister Kan was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and designated Prime Minister by the Diet to succeed Yukio Hatoyama. On 26 August 2011, Kan announced his resignation...
urged Mubarak to start a dialogue with his people. "I hope the regime of Egypt will restore security and peace." Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara
Seiji Maehara
is a Japanese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan since 1993. He was the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan from 2005 to 2006, and later served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Minister of Foreign Affairs under the cabinets...
urged the Egyptian government to resolve the ongoing political unrest peacefully. "Japan strongly hopes the Egyptian government and the people restrain violent action and create a stable government through dialogue." – Pakistan's foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said that Pakistan is watching events in Egypt closely and is taking steps about the safety of 700 families in Egypt
Pakistanis in Egypt
Pakistanis in Egypt consist of migrants and expatriates from Pakistan in Egypt and their descendants. In 2004 alone, the population was estimated at 500, which rose to 700 by 2011...
. – Philippine Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte called for a peaceful end to the strife in Egypt. Valte said the Philippine government was particularly concerned about the safety of the more than 6,500 Filipinos in Egypt. "We hope for a peaceful and just resolution to the political unrest currently taking place and the swift return to stability. We are monitoring the situation and our embassy in Cairo has contingencies in place and is prepared to relocate our citizens to safer areas. As always, the safety of our citizens is the paramount concern and we are doing what we can to anticipate and address their needs." – On 15 February the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Sri Lanka)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka that conducts and manages Sri Lanka's relations with other countries...
cautiously welcomed the political changes in a statement: "Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Egypt enjoy warm and close ties. It is in this context that Sri Lanka wishes for the people of Egypt progress and stability within a democratic framework of governance," and "The government of Sri Lanka welcomes the smooth and peaceful transition of power in Egypt". - the President of the Republic of China Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou is the 12th term and current President of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party. He formerly served as Justice Minister from 1993 to 1996, Mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006, and Chairman...
"hopes to see the rapid establishment of democracy in Egypt in accordance with the people’s will", according to Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang. Also, according to the director of Department of African Affairs of the ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Samuel Chen, the Republic of China welcomes the coming of democracy in Egypt and hopes to "enhance bilateral exchanges."
Europe
— On 3 February Austrian Foreign MinisterForeign Minister of Austria
The Foreign Minister of Austria is responsible for handling Austria's foreign policy.-Under the First Austrian Republic:* Victor Adler* Otto Bauer* Karl Renner* Michael Mayr* Johann Schober* Walter Breisky* Leopold Hennet* Alfred Grünberger...
Michael Spindelegger
Michael Spindelegger
Michael Spindelegger is an Austrian lawyer and politician. He is the current Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister of Austria in the cabinet of Werner Faymann. Since 2011, Spindelegger is the current leader of the Austrian People's Party .- Early and personal life :Spindelegger was born in Mödling,...
condemned the violence. "It is more necessary than ever for talks to be started without delay between the opposition and the government in order to prevent the situation from getting further out of control. This also entails calling those responsible for acts of violence to account, and swiftly." — Belarussian Foreign Ministry
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Belarus)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus is the Belarusian government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Belarus.The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Sergei Martynov. Previous Ministers include Andrei Sannikov....
Press Secretary Andrei Savinykh declared: "We are convinced that street clashes and violence is a bad way to solve pressing social and community issues. We urge the parties to solve existing problems peacefully in line with international legal norms [at] a negotiating table." — In a statement released on 27 January, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere
Steven Vanackere
Steven Vanackere, born 4 February 1964 in Wevelgem, Belgium, is a Flemish politician, member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party . He holds the portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Institutional Reform in the Leterme II Government...
and Minister of Civil Service, Public Enterprises and Institutional Reforms deplored the deaths. He hopes that the protest will strengthen the process of democratisation and socio-economic reform in Egypt. He pointed out the importance of freedom of speech and media. — The Foreign Ministry condemned the violent response to the protests, and expressed condolences for the deaths. — Mario Dragun, spokesman of the Croatian Foreign Ministry, said: "We hope that the violence will cease and democratic dialogue will ensue so that the crisis could be resolved and the political, economic and social reforms carried out with full respect for the basic human."
— Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Lars Løkke Rasmussen is a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from April 2009 to October 2011. He is the leader of the centre-right liberal party, Venstre....
called the protesters brave, and urged Mubarak to leave as quickly as possible. Minister for Foreign Affairs Lene Espersen
Lene Espersen
Lene Espersen is a Danish politician and member of parliament who has been Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs since 23 February 2010 and was leader of the Conservative People's Party and Deputy Prime Minister from 9 September 2008 to 13 January 2011...
strongly condemned the alleged Egyptian authorities' actions against the protests.
-
- Danish-Palestinian politician Naser KhaderNaser KhaderNaser Khader is Danish-Syrian and a former member of the Parliament of Denmark for the Conservative Party. As a member of Parliament, he has represented both Social Liberal Party and Liberal Alliance, the latter as founding leader, until January 5, 2009...
urged Mubarak to resign. The Danish Foreign Ministry warned against all travel to Egypt. — Minister for Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Estonia)The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia is a Cabinet-level governmental agency in Estonia in charge of conducting and designing Estonian Foreign policy.- History :...
Urmas PaetUrmas PaetUrmas Paet is an Estonian politician who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia since 2005. He is a member of the Estonian Reform Party. As of September 2010, Paet has been the longest serving minister since the re-establishment of Estonian independence.-Biography:Paet was born in Tallinn...
said, "It is vitally important that the Egyptian authorities and protestors avoid the use of violence." Estonia urged their citizens in Egypt to leave the country. — Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander StubbAlexander StubbCai-Göran Alexander Stubb is a Finnish politician and Minister for Foreign Affairs from 4 April 2008 to 22 June 2011...
called his counterpart Foreign Minister of Egypt Ahmed Aboul GheitAhmed Aboul GheitAhmed Aboul-Gheit is an Egyptian diplomat who was the Foreign Minister of Egypt from 11 July 2004 to 6 March 2011, since the government of Ahmed Nazif took office. Aboul-Gheit previously served as Egypt's ambassador to the United Nations. In December 2005 he began mediating the Chad-Sudan conflict...
to express Finland's strong hopes that the conflict would be resolved peacefully. In a statement on the Finnish foreign ministry's website Stubb said, "Everyone should now strive to steady the situation quickly so that there would be no further fatalities or injuries. Finland condemns the use of force." He expressed concern over the blocking of communications.
- Danish-Palestinian politician Naser Khader
— Prime Minister Francois Fillon
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...
's office said that France would be ceasing arms and tear gas sales to Egypt. Controversy arose over Fillon's links to the Mubarak regime, as he admitted having been a guest of Mubarak over the Christmas holiday at Egypt's expense. President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
responded to the allegations by telling his ministers to take their holidays in France more often, saying "What was commonplace a few years back can prove shocking nowadays." — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged its citizens to get out of Egypt. — Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle
Guido Westerwelle
Guido Westerwelle [] is a German liberal politician, who, since 28 October 2009, has been serving as the Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and who was Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011. He is the first openly gay person to hold either of those positions...
said he was "very concerned" and called on all involved to show restraint. Later Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
called upon all involved, and especially the Egyptian government and the president, to allow peaceful demonstrations, to give freedom of opinion a chance. "We have to come to a peaceful dialogue in Egypt because the stability of the country is of extraordinary importance." — The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on 30 January that it plans to evacuate its citizens from Egypt. — Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
said that he hoped for "continuity in the government" as Western leaders wanted a "more democratic system without ruptures with a president like Mubarak that all the Western hemisphere, including the U.S., had considered the wisest man and a reference point in all of the Middle East." He played down the scale of the protests by saying that there were "really few" demonstrators out of a population of 80 million.
-
- The Foreign Ministry gave a statement where they expressed deep regret over the civilian casualties. They urged the immediate cessation of every kind of violence, and called for respect for civil rights and for freedom of speech and communication, including the right to hold peaceful rallies. They pointed out that Egypt's stability is a priority for their country. — The Foreign Ministry of Affairs was concerned about the situation in Egypt, and advised their citizens not to travel to Egypt. — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned their citizens not to travel to Egypt. — The Minister of Foreign Affairs Uri RosenthalUri RosenthalUriël "Uri" Rosenthal is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . He is the Minister of Foreign Affairs since October 14, 2010 in the Cabinet Rutte. He served as a Member of the Senate from June 8, 1999 until October 14, 2010. And the Parliamentary leader in the Senate...
called on "the Egyptian authorities to stop violence, allow the media for all the people and asks the international community to stay on one line to Egypt." — Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr StøreJonas Gahr StøreJonas Gahr Støre is the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, having been appointed to Jens Stoltenberg's second cabinet on 17 October 2005. He represents the Norwegian Labour Party.-Personal life:...
called on the Egyptian authorities to refrain from violence, allow peaceful protests, and respect basic political and economical rights. "I deeply regret that lives have been lost during these demonstrations. The right to free speech and to demonstrate are basic human rights and prerequisites for democratic development. The extensive demonstrations can be viewed as a sign that there are limits to political free speech in Egypt." — The Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the many civilian casualties, and called for respect for human rights. — The Foreign Ministry condemned the violence and urged its citizens in Egypt to leave the country. — In a telephone conversation with Mubarak, President Dmitry MedvedevDmitry MedvedevDmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
expressed his hope that the situation would be resolved by peaceful and legal means. He expressed the importance of guaranteeing the security of the Embassy of Russia in Cairo and Russian citizens who are still located in the country. - Foreign Minister Sergey LavrovSergey LavrovSergey Viktorovich Lavrov is the Foreign Minister of Russia. Prior to that, Lavrov was a Soviet diplomat and Russia's ambassador to the United Nations from 1994 to 2004. Lavrov speaks Russian, English, French and Sinhala....
sent a message to his Egyptian counterpart expressing concerns over the current situation and compassion with the people of Egypt. He expressed hope that the Egyptian government would stabilise the situation, stating that "the stability of Egypt meets the genuine interests of both the Egyptians and the entire Middle East region." He hoped that "the Egyptian side will take comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of Russian citizens located in Egypt."
- The Foreign Ministry gave a statement where they expressed deep regret over the civilian casualties. They urged the immediate cessation of every kind of violence, and called for respect for civil rights and for freedom of speech and communication, including the right to hold peaceful rallies. They pointed out that Egypt's stability is a priority for their country. — The Foreign Ministry of Affairs was concerned about the situation in Egypt, and advised their citizens not to travel to Egypt. — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned their citizens not to travel to Egypt. — The Minister of Foreign Affairs Uri Rosenthal
— The Foreign Ministry condemned the violence and use of force against the protests. Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Egypt has to respect human rights and civic liberties. — Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez
Trinidad Jiménez
Trinidad Jiménez García-Herrera is a Spanish Socialist Workers' Party politician and is currently Spain's Foreign Affairs Minister....
said that the EU supports the "people who are in the street". "We support the claiming in the street for more reforms and more rights". — Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt
Fredrik Reinfeldt
John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...
stated in an interview that he hopes for an eventual democratic Egypt but fears what might happen instead, saying that a reformed Egypt with a harsher attitude towards Israel would be very destabilising for the region.
-
- Foreign Minister Carl BildtCarl Bildt, Honorary KCMG is a Swedish politician, diplomat and nobleman. Formerly Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994 and leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, Bildt has served as Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs since 6 October 2006...
criticised Egypt for blocking the internet, comparing it to MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
in 2007. "In the long run, free access to information is better for confidence and stability than restrictions and prohibitions. Measures such as this that aim at short-term stability may very well lead to more long-term suppression." — Swiss Conferation President and Foreign Affairs MinisterFederal Department of Foreign AffairsThe Federal Department of Foreign Affairs is a department of the federal administration of Switzerland. It is charged with maintaining the foreign relations of Switzerland and serves as Switzerland's ministry of foreign affairs...
Micheline Calmy-ReyMicheline Calmy-ReyMicheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey is the President of the Confederation in Switzerland, head of government. She is also Switzerland's foreign minister as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. She has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2003, and was President of the...
said she was "worried about the increasing violence in Egypt". She called on the Egyptian government to "respect freedom of speech and of assembly". - Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-SchlumpfEveline Widmer-SchlumpfEveline Widmer-Schlumpf is a Swiss lawyer, politician, and member of the Swiss Federal Council since 2008. She is currently the head of the Federal Department of Finance ....
said that the government of Switzerland was examining whether Mubarak had any assets in the country. "The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs is looking into [any assets in Swiss banks]". — Turkish Prime MinisterPrime Minister of TurkeyThe Prime Minister of the Turkey is the head of government in Turkish politics. The prime minister is the leader of a political coalition in the Turkish parliament and the leader of the cabinet....
Recep Tayyip ErdoğanRecep Tayyip ErdoganRecep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
was the first leader in EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
to call for Mubarak to heed the people’s demands and leave his post to pave the way for a more democratic regime, saying the era of governments surviving through repression was over. "No government can survive against the will of its people", Erdoğan said in a televised address to members of the ruling AK Party, which was broadcast live by some Arabic TV channels, including Al Jazeera. "Listen to [the] people's outcry and humanistic demands. Meet people's demand for change without any hesitation. I would like to make it clear here. You should take the first step for peace, security and stability of Egypt without giving any chance for exploiters, evil circles and those who have dark scenarios on Egypt. You should take steps that could satisfy the people." He called for anti-government protesters to refrain from violence and protect the country's cultural heritage. "Everyone has the right to fight for freedom, but without violence." - Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoğluAhmet DavutogluProfessor Ahmet Davutoğlu is a Turkish political scientist, an academic and an ambassador. On May 1, 2009, he was named Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey after being the chief advisor to the Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey.-Life and career:...
said that "there can be demands of communities and they can be expressed. These demands are justified. Transparency and accountability are accepted values in the international community. If these demands are brought on the agenda, in this context, they should be understood right by those countries and by governments there."
- On 15 February Erdoğan called for an international donor conference to help Egypt overcome its economic woes. Erdogan, who spoke by phone with US President Barack Obama on 12 February, said Obama embraced the idea. — On 2 February Prime Minister David CameronDavid CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
called for an end to the violence, describing the scenes in Cairo as "despicable" and said they should not be repeated. He said, "We have been watching the events in Cairo with grave concern, and completely condemn the violence that is taking place. And if it turns out that the regime, in any way, has been sponsoring or tolerating this violence, that would be completely and utterly unacceptable. These are despicable scenes that we are seeing and they should not be repeated. They underline the need for political reform and, frankly, for that political reform to be accelerated and to happen quickly. We need to see a clear roadmap for that political reform, so that people in Egypt can have confidence that their aspirations for a more democratic, a future with greater rights, is met. And that change needs to start happening now, and the violence needs to stop."
- Foreign Secretary William HagueWilliam HagueWilliam Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
called on the authorities and protesters in Egypt to show restraint and avoid violence. He urged the Egyptian authorities to "listen to the concerns" of demonstrators.
- Former Prime Minister Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
called Mubarak a "force for good."
- Foreign Minister Carl Bildt
Joint statements
A joint statement by British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
and German Chancellor
Chancellor of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...
Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
read:
On 3 February the three were joined by Italian Prime Minister
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
and Spanish Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
Jose Luis Zapatero in issuing another statement: "Only a quick and orderly transition to a broad-based government will make it possible to overcome the challenges Egypt is now facing. That transition process must start now."
— On 10 February former Prime Minister of Ukraine
Prime Minister of Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Tymoshenko
Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...
said that Egypt can learn from the Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
about how to amend the constitution to establish a civil society after a peaceful revolution, and not repeat the mistakes of Ukraine.
Oceania
— On 3 February, Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
announced "the time for change has come" and that "I absolutely condemn this violence." — On 5 February Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a major ministerial portfolio in the government of New Zealand.The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Murray McCully, who was National Party Spokeperson of Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs. There are also Associate Minister roles...
Murray McCully
Murray McCully
Murray Stuart McCully is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for Sport and Recreation, and Minister for the Rugby World Cup.-Early life:...
condemned the violence against the protesters and expressed concern over the targeting of foreign journalists. "Reports that foreign journalists, including New Zealanders, have been targeted is extremely concerning and directly violates fundamental freedoms."
Solidarity protests
Protests were held at the Egyptian embassy in TunisTunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
in solidarity and in hope that the two countries' "revolutions" would spark a chain of events around the Arab world. Tunisia's Progressive Democratic Party
Progressive Democratic Party
Progressive Democratic Party may refer to:*Progressive Democratic Party , political party established in June 2006 in Gibraltar by lawyer Keith Azopardi*Progressive Democratic Party of Guadeloupe*Progressive Democratic Party...
said that Egypt had "called in the hour of change for an end to injustice and dictatorship. The Egyptian people supported the Tunisian people's revolution. Our heart is with you and our voices never cease to pray for victory." There was a demonstration outside the Egyptian embassy in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. There were protests in Lebanon warning of the spread of the protests. On 25 January a march held in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
in solidarity with the protests was suppressed by Hamas. Police officers dressed in civilian clothing arrested six women and detained some 20 others, according to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
.
In Syria a peaceful demonstration was held on 29 January in front of the Egyptian embassy in Damascus to protest against the killing of protesters by Egyptian police. Syrian security forces were deployed around the embassy and blocked demonstrators from reaching it. Arab Israelis held rallies in solidarity with the Egyptian protesters.
On 28 January between 200 and 400 protesters held demonstrations outside the Fatih Mosque
Fatih Mosque
The Fatih Mosque or Conqueror's Mosque in English) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was one of the largest examples of Turkish-Islamic architecture in Istanbul and represented an important stage in the development of classic Turkish...
(where political activism has become more common since the Gaza flotilla raid
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea...
) after the Friday prayer in Istanbul. A small leftist group gathered outside the Egyptian embassy in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Turkey. Iranian students gathered in front of the Egypt's Interest Section in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
on 30 January to support the uprisings in Egypt. According to IRNA, the students, shouting slogans such as "Down with US, Down with Israel, Down with UK and down with Hosni Mubarak," condemned the Egyptian government's measures to confront protesters. The students demanded that the Iranian government shut down Egypt's Interest Section in Iran.
On 28 January Egyptians living in Canada
Egyptian Canadian
Egyptian Canadians are Canadians of Egyptian ancestry, first-generation Egyptian immigrants, or descendants of Egyptians who immigrated to Canada. According to the 2006 Census, there were 54,875 Egyptians in Canada, while more recent estimates by Egyptian Canadian Associations total 60,000...
and others gathered at the embassy in Ottawa as well as the consulate in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. The next day, Canadians in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, and other cities peacefully demonstrated in support of the uprising, criticising the Canadian government's cautious and generic response. On 29 January in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
, 300 people expressed their solidarity for the Egyptian people. Around 150 protesters demonstrated in solidarity with the Egyptian people in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
The Egyptian embassy in Venezuela was temporarily taken over by Venezuelans of Egyptian descent, an action which was condemned by President Hugo Chavez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
.
Egyptians in Ireland and members of the Irish Anti-War Movement
Irish Anti-War Movement
The Irish Anti-War Movement is an organisation which campaigns against wars around the world. Recent campaigns have been against wars such as the Sri Lankan Civil War and the Gaza War, and most prominently in recent years against the Iraq War and the use of Shannon Airport by the US military.The...
held a protest outside the embassy in Dublin on 28 January to "show solidarity for the people in Egypt to say to them that we are behind you and we support you."
In London, fifty protesters outside the Egyptian embassy called for Mubarak's regime to resign. In Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, a small group protested on 29 January in the main pedestrian zone, the Zeil
Zeil
The Zeil is a street in the city centre of Frankfurt, Germany. The name, which dates back to the 14th century, is derived from the German word Zeile 'row' and originally referred to a row of houses on the eastern end of the north side; the name was not extended to the entire street until...
, to show their support for the Egyptian people. In Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germans joined the Egyptians in a demonstration in Odeonsplatz
Odeonsplatz
Odeonsplatz is a large square in central Munich which was named after the former concert hall Odeon.-Architecture:In 1791 the medieval city wall was demolished and plans for a square at the point of the Schwabing Gate could be realized with the erection of the Brienner Straße in 1816. The...
asking Mubarak to leave. In The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, The Netherlands, 200 people protested in front of the Peace Palace
Peace Palace
The Peace Palace is a building situated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is often called the seat of international law because it houses the International Court of Justice , the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law, and the extensive Peace Palace Library.In addition...
against the regime of Mubarak.
on 31 January in India's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityEgypt Solidarity Forum (ESF)organized a solidarity march in which some 500 students and faculty members participated. The march was addressed by Professor A K Ramakrishnan, a distinguished faculty of School of International Studies at the university. Convener of the solidarity forum Omair Anas told that “We believe that Egyptian people are victims of their own rulers as well as their Western masters. Hosni Mubarak has protected interests of capitalists, multinationals and his Western masters, mainly the United States. On the next day, Forum called to join mass demonstration at Embassy of Egypt in New Delhi where thousands of students from different student organizations joined the demonstrated against the Mubarak regime and some protesters including convener of the Egypt Solidarity Forum were detained by the Delhi Police. Egypt Solidarity Forum had also launched a Facebook campaign and an online petition to support Casablanca call for political reform was also launched.
In South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, on 4 February, approximately 300 demonstrators blocked Bourke Street, the location of the Egyptian embassy in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, in peaceful protests organised by South African trade unions, human rights groups, and Egyptians in South Africa. The demonstrators shouted slogans such as "out with Mubarak" in English, Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
, Zulu
Zulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
, and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
.
On 9 February in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, FEMEN
FEMEN
FEMEN is a Ukrainian protest group based in Kiev, founded in 2008. The organisation became internationally known for organizing topless protests against sex tourists, international marriage agencies, sexism and other social, national and international ills...
activists organised a topless protest in front of the Egyptian embassy in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
.
Non-governmental organisations
- The AFL-CIOAFL-CIOThe American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
supported the protests, saying that US President Barack Obama was not "on their side." - Salil ShettySalil ShettySalil Shetty has been the director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign since October 2003. Before joining the UN, he served as the Chief Executive of ActionAid. He is an Indian national.-Amnesty International :...
, head of Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, believed Hosni Mubarak's decision to fire his cabinet would not stop the anti-government protests. - Hacktivist group AnonymousAnonymous (group)Anonymous is an international hacking group, spread through the Internet, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity. Originating in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, the term refers to the concept of many online community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic,...
attacked multiple government websites and issued press releases calling for support of the Egyptian people. - Mohamed Abdel Dayem of the Committee to Protect JournalistsCommittee to Protect JournalistsThe Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent nonprofit organisation based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists.-History:A group of U.S...
condemned police violence against journalists. - Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
said Egyptian police had escalated the use of force against largely peaceful demonstrations and called it "wholly unacceptable and disproportionate". - Militant Islamist group al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
's Ayman al-Zawahiri said, "The constitution of the regime in Egypt claims that it is democratic. But it's truth that it's a suppressive regime that rules the people with suppressive forces and fake elections and corrupt media and unjust law."
Evacuations and travel advisories
– From 1 February until 4 February, the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a series of press releases urging Argentine citizens not to visit Egypt "unless it is absolutely necessary, until the situation returns to normal". sent two charter planes and one military plane to evacuate its nationals from Egypt, but many Austrians on holiday in seaside resorts want to stay. sent a special commercial Azerbaijan AirlinesAzerbaijan Airlines
Azerbaijan Airlines is the national flag carrier of Azerbaijan with a main base in the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Baku, operating a network of scheduled passenger and cargo services. Member of IATA....
flight on 30 January to bring back its citizens, most of them students and embassy staff. An employee of the Azerbaijani embassy in Egypt was killed in Cairo on the same day as a result of mass public disorder. The Prime Minister announced that a chartered jet would be available to evacuate Australian nationals, and that extra consular staff will be provided. Two Qantas 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
flights from Cairo International Airport
Cairo International Airport
Cairo International Airport is the busiest airport in Egypt and the primary hub for Star Alliance member EgyptAir. The airport is located to the north-east of the city around from the business area of the city.The airport is administered by the Egyptian Holding Co...
removed Australian citizens to Frankfurt on 2 February and 4 February at government expense. Since many people were unable to reach Cairo quickly, another flight from Luxor
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
was considered. The Brazilian embassy discouraged any trips to Egypt until the situation returns to normal and started evacuating Brazilians in the country. The Brunei government had evacuated all of their 97 citizens out of Egypt via Dubai on a specially chartered flight. launched an evacuation plan to evacuate citizens from Egypt using Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
charter flights contracted by the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
to Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, London, and Paris. Approximately 6,500 Canadian citizens in Egypt are expected to reimburse the cost of the plane tickets to Europe and self-arrange for an ongoing flight back to Canada. Conflicting reports suggested that the government was willing to subsidise C$400 off ticket prices and organise flights out of the country. However, the government was unsure of how many citizens would take advantage of the offer. "The government is recommending that Canadians leave Egypt," Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon
Lawrence Cannon
Lawrence Cannon, PC is a Canadian politician from Quebec and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former Quebec lieutenant. On October 30, 2008 he was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs...
announced. "... The situation is deteriorating, the situation is not under control." was prepared to receive foreign citizens evacuated from Cairo. Cyprus It advised its citizens currently in Egypt to avoid areas where demonstrations were being staged. organised a 200-seater Finnair
Finnair
Finnair Plc is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters on the grounds of Helsinki Airport in Vantaa, Finland, and its main hub at Helsinki Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland. The largest...
Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
to evacuate the approximately 150 Finnish citizens living in Egypt. According to Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, the greatest challenge was to gather all Finns into one place to be evacuated. Finland allowed nationals of other countries to take vacant seats on the evacuation flights. sent a special commercial Air India
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
flight on 30 January to bring back its citizens who wanted to return home. Some of the 3,600-odd Indians who live in Egypt had expressed an interest in returning. called for the quick evacuation of all Indonesian citizens in Egypt, most of whom were studying at Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...
, by charter flights from Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia
PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk , publicly known as Garuda Indonesia, is the flag carrier of Indonesia. It is named after the mystical giant bird Garuda of Hinduism and Buddhist mythology. It is headquartered at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, near Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia...
. — The Department of Foreign Affairs said that as of 3 February it had "given assistance to approximately 400 Irish citizens [in Egypt]." evacuated tourists and people who worked in Egypt with two flights.
offered to transport its citizens in Egypt, many of whom fled as a result of the war, back to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
for free. The Foreign Ministry advised their citizens to stay away from places of tension and offered to evacuate their citizens with three military aircraft.
As of 3 February, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland)
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for promoting the interests of Ireland in the European Union and the wider world...
advised Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
citizens to immediately leave Egypt and advised against travel to Egypt.
advised its citizens to refrain from non-essential travel to Egypt. It later called on all its citizens holidaying in the Sinai to return home.
Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
called for its citizens to be evacuated.
- His Highness the Emir of Kuwait ordered the embassy to make sure all Kuwaiti citizens were brought back home free ,of cost and to make sure the embassy provides a hotel if needed. Kuwait AirwaysKuwait AirwaysKuwait Airways is the national airline of Kuwait, with its head office on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport, Al Farwaniyah Governorate. It operates scheduled international services throughout the Middle East, to the Indian subcontinent, Europe, Southeast Asia and North America, from its...
received orders from the Emir to send special flights to bring all Kuwaitis in Egypt back home. The Kuwaiti Ambassador to Egypt said that all Kuwaiti citizens are "safe, and enjoy good health."
Thousands of Saudi and Egyptian passengers were stranded at the Cairo, Jeddah and Riyadh airports. Turkey sent two aircraft to pick up its stranded citizens.
On 2 February the Malaysian government announced plan to evacuate its citizens. The plan, code-named "Operation Pyramid" (Malay: Operasi Piramid) was supported by three Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
planes, a Royal Malaysian Navy
Royal Malaysian Navy
The Royal Malaysian Navy is the naval arm of Malaysian Armed Forces. All commissioned ships of the RMN have the prefix KD , which means Royal Ship.-Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve:...
auxiliary ship, which was stationed at Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide....
. Malaysian flag carrier Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysian Airline System Berhad , DBA Malaysia Airlines , is the government-owned flag carrier of Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operates flights from its home base, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and its eastern hub in Kota Kinabalu. It has its headquarters on the grounds of Sultan Abdul Aziz...
and low-cost carrier AirAsia
AirAsia
AirAsia Berhad is a Malaysian-based low-cost airline. AirAsia is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost...
later announced their support of the evacuation mission and sent aircraft to Egypt. The first evacuees were expected to arrive on 4 February.
On 31 January the New Zealand government warned its citizens to avoid all areas with protests.
President Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON is the 14th Head of State and current President of Nigeria.He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the...
recommended that all Nigerians evacuate from Egypt. Nigeria then dispatched a team to assist its citizens in leaving the country.
's government created an emergency team within the Foreign Ministry to form a plan for evacuating 25,000 Russian nationals. It had earlier recommended that tourists stay in their hotels and not leave the guarded resort areas.
Two major Russian oil and gas companies, Lukoil
LUKoil
Lukoil/LUKoil ; ) is Russia's second largest oil company and its second largest producer of oil. In 2009, the company produced 97.615 million tons of oil; ....
and Novatek
Novatek
OAO Novatek is the Russia's largest independent natural gas producer, and second-largest in overall production after Gazprom. The company was originally known as OAO FIK Novafininvest...
, evacuated their staff from Egypt on 30 January.
The Kosovo Foreign Ministry urged Kosovars to leave Egypt. In the absence of diplomatic relations between the two states, citizens in distress were instructed to seek help from the Turkish embassy. The chairman of the New Kosovo Alliance
New Kosovo Alliance
New Kosovo Alliance is a political party in Kosovo which is in the current coalition government made up by the PDK and AKR. The party was founded on 3 May 2006, by Behgjet Pacolli the founding owner of Mabetex,the Swiss based project engineering firm responsible for some of the most significant...
Behgjet Pacolli
Behgjet Pacolli
Behgjet Isa Pacolli is a former President of the Republic of Kosovo, and is now First Deputy Prime Minister serving in the cabinet of Hashim Thaçi...
organised flights back to Kosovo for some 160-odd Kosovas at his own expense.
On 3 February a Slovak government aircraft brought 34 Slovaks, eight Czechs, one Hungarian, and two Portuguese citizens, who were living and working in Cairo and Hurghada
Hurghada
Hurghada is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. It is a main tourist center and second largest city in Egypt located on the Red Sea coast.- Overview :...
, to Slovakia.
's flag carrier, Korean Air
Korean Air
Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. , operating as Korean Air, is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of South Korea, with global headquarters located in Seoul, South Korea. Korean Air's international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities in 45...
, suspended flights to Egypt on 30 January. The Foreign Ministry suspended classes at the Korean School, which had an attendance of some forty elementary school students. The South Korean embassy put together an emergency plan to evacuate Korean nationals in the event of a serious crisis.
Until 30 January, the British government had advised its citizens to stay put (although advising against non-essential travel). However, the advice was then revised to say "We recommend that British nationals without a pressing need to be in Cairo, Alexandria or Suez leave by commercial means, where it is safe to do so." The Foreign Ministry recommendation that citizens in other parts of the country not affected by widespread protests and violence stay where they are and stay indoors.
The US advised its citizens to take evacuation flights to safe havens in Europe. It later warned its citizens to leave "as soon as possible". It offered to send a plane to evacuate embassy personnel to reduce its "diplomatic footprint" in the country.
Others
Multinational corporation
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
s said they would evacuate their employees.
Media
Austria's Der StandardDer Standard
Der Standard is an Austrian national daily newspaper which is published in Vienna . It was founded by Oscar Bronner as a financial newspaper and the first edition was published on 1988-10-19...
said that "the EU has failed to manage its response to the events in Egypt."
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof said that "it should be increasingly evident that Mr. Mubarak is not the remedy for instability in Egypt; he is its cause. The road to stability in Egypt requires Mr. Mubarak's departure, immediately." On 7 February, during the first show after a return from Egypt, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reporter Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...
, who had twice been beaten by pro-Mubarak protesters, criticised the government on his nightly show. He said that Mubarak's regime has "blood on its hands" and is lying to the world about its actions. He called Egypt a police state and accused the government of saying "the direct opposite of what they have been doing." He cited the government's claim of reaching out to the opposition even though "his secret police were still arresting opposition figures." He further said that while the government has denied being involved in the violence directed at protesters, the military had been conspicuously slow to react to the targeting of demonstrators by pro-Mubarak forces.
Writing for the Saturday Mirror on 6 August, former Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n head of state Olusegun Obasanjo criticised the handling of the Mubaraks' trial and defended the deposed president. "I am not saying that Mubarak has not made a mistake in his almost thirty years in running the affairs of Egypt or that he has not committed any misdemeanour or offence, but decency demands that in bringing him to judgment, the good he has done should be brought side by side with the mistakes he has made and if this is done objectively, I am of the mind that the good will outweigh the mistakes," Obasanjo wrote.
Individuals
MIT linguistics professor Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
said that "[w]hat’s happening is absolutely spectacular. The courage and determination and commitment of the demonstrators is remarkable, and whatever happens these are moments that won’t be forgotten and are sure to have long-term consequences." He later added in an article in The Guardian that:
Observers compared it to the toppling of Russian domains in 1989, but there are important differences. Crucially, no Mikhail GorbachevMikhail GorbachevMikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
exists among the great powers that support the Arab dictators. Rather, Washington and its allies keep to the well-established principle that democracy is acceptable only insofar as it conforms to strategic and economic objectives: fine in enemy territory (up to a point), but not in our backyard, please, unless properly tamed. One 1989 comparison has some validity: Romania, where Washington maintained its support for Nicolae CeausescuNicolae CeausescuNicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
, the most vicious of the east European dictators, until the allegiance became untenable. Then Washington hailed his overthrow while the past was erased. That is a standard pattern: Ferdinand MarcosFerdinand MarcosFerdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
, Jean-Claude DuvalierJean-Claude DuvalierJean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed "Bébé Doc" or "Baby Doc" was the President of Haiti from 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. He succeeded his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, as the ruler of Haiti upon his father's death in 1971...
, Chun Doo-hwanChun Doo-hwanChun Doo-hwan was a ROK Army general and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Chun was sentenced to death in 1996 for his heavy-handed response to the Gwangju Democratization Movement, but later pardoned by President Kim Young-sam with the advice of then President-elect Kim Dae-jung,...
, Suharto and many other useful gangsters. It may be under way in the case of Hosni Mubarak, along with routine efforts to try to ensure a successor regime will not veer far from the approved path.
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali , , is a British Pakistani military historian, novelist, journalist, filmmaker, public intellectual, political campaigner, activist, and commentator...
said the protests would be a "rude awakening for all those who imagined that the despots of the Arab world could be kept in place provided they continued to serve the needs of the West." He said that "while Western establishments lull themselves to sleep with fairy tales, ordinary citizens, who are defeated and demoralised, mull their revenge." He added that "If Tunisia was a tremor, the Egyptian uprising has become an earthquake that is spreading throughout the region. The generals in Cairo are still refusing to disperse the crowds with tanks and bullets. A full-scale Tiananmen Square option, which Mubarak and his friends would have appreciated, becomes difficult in these conditions."
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
said that Vice-President Omar Suleiman appeared to be making the decisions, if only to give the impression that Mubarak was relenting and would be willing to remain as a figurehead president until his term ends later in the year. He believes that Mubarak was very alert to what would be needed to maintain the loyalties of the police, the intelligence agencies, the security forces and the army and that when is forced out tens of thousands of those on his payroll would lose their patronage. Nader stated that "the government is striving to wait out the protesters, whose daily supplies and energies are being sapped by the overwhelming force arrayed against them to intimidate, weaken and keep their numbers down not just in [Tahrir] Square but also in other cities like Alexandria and Suez."
External links
- Americans Protest in Support of Egypt – slideshow by The Huffington PostThe Huffington PostThe Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...