Thursday, February 3, 2011

Egypt: Curfew eased, Internet restored

The Egyptian parliament has suspended its sittings until the revision of the results of the parliamentary election, marked by accusations of fraud and violence, announced Wednesday, Feb. 2, the official Mena news agency. "The Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour, instructed the Secretary General of Parliament, Sami Mehran, contact the high electoral commission to get the names of members referred by court decisions," said Mena.

Justice had annulled the election results in many constituencies, after the elections that took place on 28 November and 5 December. Sorour said that "Parliament would declare void the election of members referred by the court of appeal" and would announce "a new vote in the constituencies concerned," said Mena.

Egyptian armed forces have also asked the demonstrators to stop their actions, saying their message was heard and it was now necessary to think about the future of the country and facilitate the return to calm. "The armed forces are calling you. (...) You took to the streets to hear your requirements and you alone are able to allow a return to normal life," he told a television critic Army.

The military for its part considered "legitimate" claims population and that it would not fire on the crowd. Tuesday, she did not intervene and left more than a million people take to the streets of the cities of Egypt. The Egyptian opposition has called for further demonstrations on Tahrir Square in central Cairo, and continued to rally Friday to demand the departure of President Hosni Mubarak.

Dissatisfied with the promise of rais 82 years to relinquish power in September, the opposition continues to call for his immediate departure and wants to talk with the vice-president, Omar Suleiman. Internet access was restored Wednesday to Cairo and Alexandria, after more than five days off, show the AP and agencies.

The web access was cut off since January 28, seeking the power of the sort of limiting contact between opponents. The curfew in force since Friday in the Egyptian capital as well as Alexandria and Suez will be reduced from Wednesday, state television said in a headband. The official MENA news agency said the decision by President Hosni Mubarak, would come into force from Wednesday.

The curfew will begin at 17 am local time (16 hours in Paris), instead of 15 hours now, and will end at 7:00 (6:00 in Paris), 8 hours cons so far. The curfew had been imposed until further notice Friday evening in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez after violent anti-government riots. On the ninth day of protest, the French president Nicolas Sarkozy wanted in a statement that commits the political transition in Egypt.

"Following the speech of President Mubarak, the president reiterated his wish for a transition process without delay and concrete commitment to responding to the desire for change and renewal forcefully expressed by the people," says A statement from the Elysee. The Head of State "calls on all Egyptian officials to do everything so that this crucial process is conducted without violence," it said.

"Linked to Egypt by an old and deep friendship, France renews its support for the aspirations of the Egyptians for a free, democratic and diverse." Concludes head of state. Wednesday morning, protesters again gathered in Tahrir Square to try to get the departure from power of President Mubarak.

At least 1,500 people were in the morning on the huge square, which became the rallying point of the protest movement since January 25. "The people demand the regime fell," read one banner on a 20 meters long. Meanwhile, some 500 supporters of Egyptian President gathered in central Cairo to proclaim their allegiance to Hosni Mubarak.

"Yes to Mubarak, to protect stability," reads one of the banners displayed by the group in the vicinity of the building on national television, about a kilometer from Tahrir Square. On other banners reading "Yes to the president of peace and stability" or "Those who like Egypt does not make it sink." The day before, some pro-Mubarak protesters expressed their intention to march on Tahrir Square, where several thousand people were still gathered Wednesday morning to demand a departure from the president without delay.

In Alexandria, according to witnesses, a group of supporters of Mr. Mubarak, armed with knives and sticks, attacked the demonstrators chanting "We love Hosni!". But the army intervened and dispersed the attackers. The main continuous news channel Arab Al-Jazeera, said Wednesday that its emissions, whose distribution is interrupted on a satellite controlled by the Egyptian government, were subject to interference to other satellites across the Arab world.

"It is clear that some powers do not want our pictures calling for democracy and reform are accessible to the public," said the satellite channel located in Qatar. Al-Jazeera had already announced Sunday that the Egyptian satellite Nilesat government stopped issuing its emissions. In a statement sent to the Wednesday, the chain said that its programming broadcast by the satellites Arabsat and Hotbird know now "frequent power cuts, forcing millions of viewers across the Arab world to change the frequencies of the satellites during the day ".

"We work twenty-four hours in twenty-four to make sure that we broadcast on alternate frequencies," said Chain.

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