Egyptian Junta Vows ‘Harsh Measures’ Against Dissent
antiwar.com
Underscoring just how thin their commitment to the Arab Spring protest movements actually is, the Obama Administration is loudly demanding that the Egyptian military junta launch a crackdown on dissent to “meet its obligations under the Vienna Convention.” They warned the junta of “consequences” if they didn’t crush the protests around the Israeli Embassy.
The call was quickly praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he was confidenct the US “used all the means and influence” at its disposal to press Egypt to take action against the protesters.
On Friday, Egyptian protesters sacked the Israeli embassy, breaching an external barricade and swarming into the building, tossing Hebrew-language paperwork into the streets. No embassy officials were hurt in the attack, but some 450 Egyptians were wounded by security forces.
Egypt’s junta, predictably, has announced that it will be launching a new crackdown on all public protests, adding that it will take “harsh measures” against anyone who aims to damage Egypt’s image. They also vowed to use “all articles” of Hosni Mubarak’s emergency law, which for decades has been used to silence any and all dissent, and which was at the center of the first protest movement early this year.
The US government wasn’t keen on the first protest movement, which ousted Mubarak, but eventually came to publicly endorse it. It seems the protests against the “interim” junta, and the demands to finally set a date for elections, have reset the administration’s position to its default – crush all dissent.
U.S. told Egypt it must rescue Israeli embassy workers or suffer ‘consequences,’ sources say
Officials involved in attempt to resolve mob attack on Israeli embassy in Cairo say U.S. Secretary of Defense Panetta managed to speak with head of Egypt’s ruling military only after 2 hours of repeated calling.
Haaretz
The United States told Egypt’s military rulers during an attack on the Israeli embassy in Cairo that they must act quickly in order to prevent Israeli personnel from being attacked by Egyptian protesters, Haaretz learned on Saturday.
According to senior U.S. source that were involved in the attempt to resolve the Cairo incident, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta called Supreme Military Council head Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, conveying what the source called a forceful message concerning the need for speed in Egypt’s ending of the embassy attack.
“There’s no time to waste,” Panetta reportedly told Tantawi in the 1 A.M. call, warning of a tragic outcome that “would have very severe consequences.”
The U.S. source also said that Tantawi failed to answer incoming calls from U.S. officials throughout the evening, finally answering after more than two hours of attempts.
These reports came after earlier Saturday, a senior Israeli source indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak attempted repeatedly to reach the head of Egypt’s Supreme Military Council, to no avail.
According to the Israeli source, the “Egyptians said every time that they were not able to track him down in order to connect the call.” After failing to locate Tantawi himself, Netanyahu called head of Egyptian intelligence, Gen. Murad Muwafi.
Barak, in turn, called U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, asking him to discuss the issue with Tantawi, which Panetta was able to do shortly after.
Also on Saturday, Egypt raised its national alertness level following the severe nighttime incident late Friday, as thousands of Egyptian protesters attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo, resulting in the evacuation of dozens of Israeli diplomats.
Egyptian commandos released six besieged security guards from the Israeli Embassy, while an Israeli Air Force plane evacuated over 80 diplomats, including family members from Cairo, after a mass group of Egyptian protesters broke into the embassy.
Netanyahu thanked on Saturday both the United States and Egypt for their aid in the wake of the embassy attack, adding that Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt was an interest shared by both countries and “an anchor” in Israel’s regional policy.
Netanyahu also referred to what he saw as a link between events such as the attack on the Israeli embassy and the stalled Middle East peace process.
Egypt vows protection after attack on Israeli embassy
Egypt has vowed to protect all embassies in the country, hours after protesters stormed the Israeli mission, prompting the evacuation of diplomats.
The interim military government said protesters involved in the attack on the Israeli mission would be tried in an emergency state security court.
Egypt is on alert after the attack, in which three people died as security forces fought rioters in Cairo.
Anti-Israeli feeling rose after violence on the Gaza border last month.
Five Egyptian policemen were killed as Israeli forces pursued Palestinian militants.
The clashes at the Israeli embassy, which went on through Friday night, have shocked people both in Egypt and abroad, the BBC’s Bethany Bell reports from the Egyptian capital.
Reports on Egyptian State TV said Prime Minister Essam Sharaf had offered to step down but his resignation was refused by the country’s military leader, Field Marshal Tantawi.
Under Egypt’s former leader, Hosni Mubarak, such violent displays of anger against Israel would not have been tolerated, our correspondent says.
Now the army has to try to balance the demands of its angry people and its longstanding strategic commitments, she adds.
There is a sharp increase in tension in what was already a very cold peace. Egypt is one of only two Arab countries to have a peace deal with Israel. Anti-Israel sentiment is certainly very deep-seated here, but this open expression is something quite new.
It’s grown much more vocal since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak. These protests were sparked when Egyptian border guards were killed last month [on the border with Israel]. There have been people outside the embassy for a number of days.
I spoke to one of them and she said, “We’ve been brought up to hate Israel but now we can express this openly. Since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, no Egyptian blood will go unavenged.”
Israel evacuated its ambassador Yitzhak Levanon and nearly all its diplomats.
Altogether 80 people – embassy staff and their families – were flown out overnight to Israel.
Six members of the embassy staff were trapped inside the building during the riot and had to be rescued by Egyptian commandos, an Israeli official told the BBC.
The Israeli consul remains in Cairo as acting ambassador.
A spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Ambassador Levanon would return to Cairo as soon as security permitted.
“There is a new Egyptian administration with which we are fully and painstakingly coordinating. And it is the intent of this Egyptian administration, as it is that of the government of Israel, to preserve the peace that has been preserved for more than 30 years,” Roni Sofer told Israeli army radio.
Egypt is one of only two Arab countries – along with Jordan – to have made peace with Israel.
Friday prayers
The Egyptian state news agency Mena said 448 people had been injured in the clashes overnight into Saturday.
The unrest began after Friday prayers, when thousands converged on Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demand faster political reforms following the ousting of Hosni Mubarak in February.
An Israeli official said documents thrown by protesters appeared to be pamphlets from the foyer From there, hundreds marched on the Israeli embassy. They smashed through a security wall around the building before a group of about 30 broke in and threw documents out of windows.
An Israeli official told the BBC the intruders had entered consular offices, but not the main embassy.
After initially standing by, police moved against the protesters, firing tear gas. Several vehicles were set alight.
Live TV pictures in the early hours of Saturday showed protesters throwing petrol bombs at police vans which drove at a crowd of people to try to scatter them.
Shots were heard in the area but it is not clear who fired them. Protesters also attacked a police station nearby.
Hundreds of protesters remained near the embassy until after dawn, burning tyres in the street and chanting slogans against Egypt’s military rulers.
The health ministry said that one of the three people who died had suffered a heart attack.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the attack, and called on the Egyptian authorities to meet their obligations to protect diplomatic property and staff.
