World leaders and non-government organisations have joined in calling for the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, to put an end to violence in Egypt as mass protests continue across the country.
More than 70 people have reportedly died and 2,000 been injured since protestors took to the streets last week and there were reports on the weekend of widespread looting. Communication services – including internet and mobile phone access – have been severely disrupted.
In moves announced on the weekend, President Mubarak has appointed intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as the first vice-president of his 50 year rule and aviation minister Ahmed Shafiq as the country’s new prime minister.
In a joint statement, Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy, joining in calling on President Mubarak to “avoid at all costs the use of violence against unarmed civilians, and on the demonstrators to exercise their rights peacefully”.
“It is essential that the further political, economic and social reforms President Mubarak has promised are implemented fully and quickly and meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people…” they said in the statement.
“The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and a longing for a just and better future. We urge President Mubarak to embark on a process of transformation which should be reflected in a broad-based government and in free and fair elections.”
In the US, the White House has issued a statement saying President Barack Obama had been calling world leaders on the weekend, reiterating his focus on “opposing violence and calling for restraint; supporting universal rights, including the right to peaceful assembly, association, and speech; and supporting an orderly transition to a government that is responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people”.
Australia’s Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has said the government was monitoring the situation and calling on all parties to “exercise calm and restraint”.
Australia is among the many countries which have urged its citizens to leave the country.
Late last week, human rights organisation Amnesty International also urged the Egyptian authorities to “rein in the security forces to prevent bloodshed”.
“The authorities cannot continue to rely on the 30-year-old State of Emergency to enforce a blanket prohibition on public demonstrations and grant sweeping powers of search and arrest,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Meanwhile , in London on Sunday, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and United Action for Egyptian Christians held a ‘day of prayer’ .
The day of prayer was called in response to ongoing sectarian violence against Christians in the past year, including the bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria on New Year’s Eve in which 23 people were killed and 80 injured.
Among those to address those who gathered for the day was Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain.
In an interview with Christian Today published on Sunday night, the Bishop said Coptic Christians didn’t want “special concessions”.
“We just want equality and we want what’s best for Egypt, because what has been happening for the last few decades with the marginalisation and polarisation just isn’t healthy for anyone.”
