Egypt counts cost of turmoil as protesters remain undaunted
A day after Egyptians staged one of their biggest protests in the capital, Tahrir Square remained crowded, although no demonstration had been scheduled.
Karam Mohamed, from Beheira province in the Nile Delta, said the protests were growing. “We are putting pressure on them little by little and in the end they will fall.”
Protesters said the organisers were working on plans to move on to the state radio and television building tomorrow, the day of the next big scheduled demonstration.
“I think people outside will make crowds outside the radio and television ... President Mubarak will fall soon, in three or four days,” said Mohamed Sadik, a Cairo engineer.
The television building, surrounded by armoured army vehicles, is on the Nile about 1km north of Tahrir Square. Protestors said they might also try to spread toward the two houses of parliament also nearby.
Security sources said a protester was killed and several suffered gunshot wounds in clashes with police in a desert province far from Cairo on Tuesday and yesterday, the first serious confrontation since the Day of Wrath on January 28 led to the army’s deployment on the streets.
With Mubarak refusing to step down before his term ends in September, the government has tried to portray itself as a bulwark against militant Islam and called for a return to normality for the sake of the economy.
In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called on the Egyptian government to end emergency law and implement more political reform, echoing comments made by US Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
The Obama administration appears worried that Mubarak’s government will not make meaningful changes in the most populous Arab nation, a strategic US partner due to its peace treaty with Israel and control of the Suez Canal.
Vice President Omar Suleiman, who has been holding talks with opposition groups, has said there was now a road map to hand over power, but protesters have been unmoved by the plan.
A constitutional committee, appointed by Mubarak, has agreed on six articles that should be amended and said further articles could also be changed, the official news agency reported.
The articles include those governing presidential elections and terms of office.
Government attempts to defuse the public anger which erupted on January 25 have fallen flat and the economy is suffering. “We cannot bear this situation for a long time and we must end this crisis as soon as possible,” Suleiman said.
Analysts at Credit Agricole bank estimate the crisis is costing Egypt $310 million (€226m) a day.
Ezzsteel, Egypt’s largest steel maker, reported its plants were operating below full capacity, but said an investigation involving its chairman, who had held a senior position in Mubarak’s party, would not affect company activity.
Chairman Ahmed Ezz denied allegations about vote rigging in parliamentary elections last November. In Oslo, Statoil said it was no longer drilling in Egypt.
The Suez Canal, a vital source of foreign currency, reported a 1.6% drop in revenue in January from December. But revenue was up from a year earlier, and officials have said operations have been unaffected by the turmoil.
Likewise, a feared collapse in the Egyptian pound has failed to materialise although the authorities have acted in support.
The central bank said yesterday it was prepared to intervene directly in the currency market again after an intervention on Tuesday.
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