Time Running Out for Mubarak?

Dr. Abdul Ruff

Egypt, a mysterious gift from the River Nile, has been in turmoil, losing several human lives, but the Mubarak is till fixed his September deadline.  Meanwhile talks between the ruling  dispensation and the opposition parties are going on without any results, because the whole President Mubarak exercise is only to stay on in power till September.

But the Egyptian leaders must  show some mercy on their own people.  Opposition groups met members of the government led by Vice-President Omar Suleiman on February 06 to discuss how to resolve the stand-off which has paralyzed the country and left some 300 people dead. Six groups were represented, including a coalition of youth organizations, a group of "wise men" and the banned Muslim Brotherhood in its first ever meeting with the government. A series of superficial concessions the government offered at Sunday's talks have not pacified the masses. Talks between the Egyptian government and opposition groups on tackling the country's political crisis have failed to end protests in central Cairo.

Tens of thousands again joined demonstrations in Cairo and other cities on Feb 05, although the authorities have been attempting to restore a sense of normality to the capital. The government is seeking to revive an economy said to be losing at least $310m (£192m) a day. Many shops, factories and the stock exchange have been closed, and basic goods have been running short. Banks in Cairo opened for the first time in a week, drawing long queues as people waited to withdraw money.

The chances for the opposition party, the Muslim Brotherhood, or al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun, to replace Mubarak government are very high now. Muslim Brotherhood is Egypt's oldest and largest Islamist organization. Today, though officially banned and subject to frequent repression, the Brotherhood leads public opposition to the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981. The continued repression of the opposition was one of the main triggers for the mass anti-government protests by thousands of Egyptians in late January 2011, which saw the NDP's headquarters in Cairo set on fire.

Founded by Hassan al-Banna in the 1920s, the group has influenced Islamist movements around the world with its model of political activism combined with Islamic charity work. It supports pro-Islamic democratic principles, one of their stated aims is to create a state ruled by Islamic law, or Sharia. Their most famous slogan, used worldwide, is: "Islam is the solution".

The opposition leaders said they were skeptical of the government's motives and that the measures did not go far enough. The Muslim Brotherhood said it would only take part in future talks if the government made progress on meeting its demands that Mubarak resign, parliament be dissolved, emergency laws lifted and all political prisoners released. Mohamed ElBaradei was proposing a one-year transitional period where Egypt would be run by a three-member presidential council, including himself, as it prepared for elections. He  was not at the talks but sent a representative to meet Vice-President Suleiman separately - described the process as "opaque".

Egyptians seek  removal of Mubarak and a people’s government in place at the earliest to lead the people towards the right path. Mubarak has so far refused to resign, saying that to do so would cause chaos. He has instead said he will not stand for re-election in September. Hillary Clinton appeared to caution Egypt against a rush to replace its leader of 30 years. US President Barack Obama has insisted that an "orderly transition" must begin immediately. Mubarak must read the walls and act swiftly without causing more mass causalities since he claims to be loving the Egyptians.

Europe and USA are not at all bothered about the loss of Muslim lives or seriously injured Muslims in Egypt like any where else. After all, they under the banner of NATO terror syndicates led by the USA-UK terror twins have been slaughtering Muslims in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq at will and obviously it is naive on the part of the world to expect any mercy on Muslims in Egypt or elsewhere. They have their own interests in Egypt and middle East.Mubarak must realize this and help the opposition in building up a new strong Islamic government.