EXCLUSIVE - ElBaradei: Time for Egypt leader Mubarak to go

[Joanne98]

Source: Reuters

Prominent Egyptian reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei said he expected large demonstrations across Egypt on Friday and that the time had come for President Hosni Mubarak to leave power.

"He has served the country for 30 years and it is about time for him to retire," ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, told Reuters shortly before he was due to leave Vienna for Cairo on Thursday.

"I think he has to declare that he is not going to run again (for president)," ElBaradei, who lives in Vienna, said in the telephone interview.

His arrival in Cairo could inspire protesters who have no figurehead, although many activists resent his long absences over past months.


Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-54451620110127

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It would be easy for Mubarak to leave. His wife already packed her 97 suitcases!

[xchrom]

1. leave, leave mubarak. nt

[florida08]

2. yes it is

[oberliner]

3. Who do you think will take his place?

Any predictions for how things would go after he left?

[Enrique]

4. omg Baradei is HATED by the neocons

he's like a Muslin Hans Blix. Bolton tried to get him kicked off the IAEA.

Imagine if he took power in Egypt. :nuke:

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Joanne.

[struggle4progress]

6. Egyptian government on last legs, says ElBaradei

Egyptian government on last legs, says ElBaradei
Exclusive: Mohamed ElBaradei says he is sending a message 'to the Guardian and to the world'
Jack Shenker in Cairo and Haroon Siddique
guardian.co.uk, Friday 28 January 2011 09.47 GMT

The Egyptian dissident Mohamed ElBaradei warned President Hosni Mubarak today that his regime is on its last legs, as tens of thousands of people prepared to take to the streets for a fourth day of anti-government protests.

The Nobel peace prize winner's comments to the Guardian represented his strongest intervention against the country's authoritarian government since he announced his intention to return to Egypt to join the protests. "I'm sending a message to the Guardian and to the world that Egypt is being isolated by a regime on its last legs," he said.

His words marked an escalation with the language he used on arrival in Cairo last night, when he merely urged the Mubarak government to "listen to the people" and not to use violence.

He has been criticised by some Egyptians for his late return to his homeland, two days after the protests began - hundreds of people have already been arrested and exposed to the brutal tactics of the security services. But ElBaradei was keen to stress his solidarity with the protesters ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/28/egyptian-government-last-legs-elbaradei

[Turborama]

7. Egypt unrest day three: Riots in Suez and ElBaradei urges Mubarak to retire

Source: Reuters Via Haaretz

Latest update 14:16 01/27/11 -

With anti-government protests in Egypt entering their third day Thursday, activists trying to oust President Hosni Mubarak set fire to buildings in the eastern city of Suez and played cat-and-mouse with police, while prominent reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei called on Mubarak to leave office after 30 years.

=snip=

ElBaradei said from Vienna shortly before his return to Egypt to join in demonstrations that it was time for Mubarak to step aside.

"He has served the country for 30 years and it is about time for him to retire," said ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog.

"Tomorrow is going to be, I think, a major demonstration all over Egypt and I will be there with them."

Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/egypt-unrest-day-three-riots-in-suez-and-elbaradei-urges-mubarak-to-retire-1.339535

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CNN International have written a lengthy piece on & have interviewed ElBaradei.

Click on this image for Article & Video of interview
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/01/27/egypt.elbaradei.protests/index.html">

And in the videos forum for anyone who's interested... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x547906">Inside Story: Fascinating Discussion With Egyptians About What's Going On & What's Next

[sabrina 1]

8. They didn't succeed in stopping the protests as they

hoped. I read on an Arab blog that Mubarak is 'very stubborn' and is not likely to step down unless there is absolutely no choice.

I would worry about the CIA eg, going in to try to influence the outcome, but to be honest, I think it's too late for that now.

Their usual tactics of making the protestors look violent by smashing cars and windows eg, will have little effect at this point.

I truly hope they succeed in toppling this government or there will brutal recriminations against the protestors, as there were after Tiananmen Square.

[Selatius]

10. It could end up like Iran, where people rioted after the gov't rigged their last election.

Of course, as we all saw, the government brutally crushed the protesters. Granted, the body count didn't approach horrific Tiananmen Square levels, but it sent a clear message to anybody inside Iran that the ruling dictatorship will use whatever means to maintain its grip on power.

I fear a repeat of that, this time in a supposed ally of Egypt.

[struggle4progress]

9. Five dead as Egypt braces for fourth day of protests

Nobel Peace Prize winner to take part in unrest
By Dina Zayed And Shaimaa Fayed
Reuters January 28, 2011 12:10 AM

... Security forces shot dead a Bedouin protester in the north of Egypt's Sinai region on Thursday, bringing the death toll to five on the third day of protests inspired by unrest which toppled Tunisia's president earlier this month ...

In the Egyptian city of Suez, police fired rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators calling for an end to Mubarak's rule. Protesters chucked rocks and petrol bombs at police lines.

Hundreds of demonstrators remained on the streets of Suez late into Thursday night. Smoke from fires lit on the roads filled the air while tear gas hung in the air in some areas of the city, forcing people to cover their mouths with tissues ...

In Ismailia, hundreds of protesters clashed with police, who dispersed the crowds with tear gas ...

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Five+dead+Egypt+braces+fourth+protests/4182367/story.html