West support for Mubarak ‘catastrophic’

IF the West continues to support Hosni Mubarak as president of Egypt, the result will be catastrophic for the whole of the Middle East, an expert in Egyptian politics warns.

Young people are increasing their action across the nation of close, with some going on hunger strike and demonstrations continuing in every region, including those that traditionally supported Mubarak.

Tarek Mahmoud, who for five years was bureau chief of MENA, the Egyptian state news agency in Brussels and regularly accompanied Mubarak, has been caught in the protests in his native Cairo. He has seen people killed and argued with security forces not to arrest journalists.

The situation on the streets of every city in Egypt is tinder-dry and severe violence could be ignited at any time.

Frustration at the world protecting an 83-year-old man who changed laws to keep himself in power, together with the result of years with no proper security on the streets, could explode, he warned.

The western narrative — that Mubarak is needed to maintain stability in the region — is not accepted by Egypt’s citizens.

“Why do they support the Mubarak regime and not the Egyptian people? This is not contributing to stability,” he said.

Instead politicians in Europe and the US must understand that the actions of the people now on the streets is an opportunity that will not be repeated.

In addition, there are dangerous rumours circulating, such as that Israel sent poison bombs in two planes to the regime. “We are hearing more and more rumours, they are frightening people and making violence more likely.”

Egypt is the model for the region and he believes the protests will be repeated in other countries. The longer people have to wait for democracy, the more dangerous the situation will become, he warned.

The young people at the core of the demonstrations are not ideologically driven, they do not belong to any political group and so he believes the opposition leader, Mohammed El-Baradai, could ensure there is no power vacuum.

“He is pro west and he is an Egyptian nationalist too. But he cannot be imposed from the outside,” he warns. “The people must choose their own person. If these young people are frustrated and do not get their own person into power now, it will be a catastrophe. It will lead to extremism, and see the whole Middle East in turmoil,” he said.