Army endorses Egyptians

Army endorses Egyptians' right to protest

www.reuters.com

Egypt's armed forces pledged not to fire on peaceful demonstrators on Monday as thousands of people, freed from fear after decades of oppression, tried to press home their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Other news links...

CNN - Egypt's armed forces: 'No violence' against the people

New York Times - Egyptian Army Says It Will Not Fire on Protesters

Al Jazeera - Army 'not to use force' in Egypt

This is the move I have been wondering about...what will the army do?

The military command, which may be keener to preserve a 60-year-old system of army-backed government than to prolong the personal rule of the 82-year-old Mubarak, issued a statement on Monday calling protesters' demands "legitimate" and promising not to use force against people expressing themselves peacefully.

It's fantastic to see that the army has decided that peaceful protests are the right of every citizen and will not be subjected to a military crackdown as a last ditch effort to retain power by the sitting leaders.

In its first formal comment on events on Monday, the armed forces command issued a statement calculated for popular appeal. "The armed forces will not resort to use of force against our great people," it said, though it would stop looters.

"Your armed forces, who are aware of the legitimacy of your demands and are keen to assume their responsibility in protecting the nation and the citizens, affirms that freedom of expression through peaceful means is guaranteed to everybody."

They will use force to prevent looters and destruction of property, but the protests will not be interfered with.

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)



Taken from the above links...


From CNN...

As anti-government demonstrations persist across Egypt and the country's military firmly puts its boots on the ground to establish order, the army said it won't deploy "violence" against the people.

A military spokesman said on state TV Monday that "freedom of opinion in a peaceful manner is allowed for all" and the "armed forces are aware of the legitimate demands of the honest citizens."

"The presence of the armed forces in the Egyptian streets is for your benefit to protect your safety and peace," said the spokesman for the army, which has been regarded favorably by many protesters who despise the police and see that institution as an ally.

The armed forces "will not use violence against this great people which have always played a significant role in every moment of Egypt's great history. And we reassure the armed forces are a force of stability and security for this great nation. The protection of the people is one of its core values," the spokesman said.

From The New York Times...

The political forces aligned against President Hosni Mubarak appeared to strengthen sharply Monday when the Army said for the first time that it would not fire on the protesters who have convulsed Egypt for a week demanding his resignation. The announcement was shortly followed by the government’s first offer to talk to the protest leaders.

The offer of talks, delivered via Egypt’s new vice -president, said he had been authorized to open a dialogue with the opposition for constitutional and political reforms. The vice president, Omar Suleiman, did not offer any further details.

...The military’s announcement followed a cabinet reshuffle by Mr. Mubarak that the opposition dismissed as window dressing, and as concerns over violence were heightened by the presence of security police officers clustered near the square’s entrances, their first deployment there in three days.

From Al Jazeera...

The Egyptian army has said it would not use force against citizens staging protests to force President Hosni Mubarak to step down

In a statement on Monday it said "freedom of expression" was guaranteed to all citizens using peaceful means.

It was the first such explicit confirmation by the army that it would not fire at demonstrators who have taken to the streets of Egypt and comes a day before before Tuesday's "march of millions" to mark the seventh day of the protests as anti-government sentiment reaches fever pitch.

Although there is still alot of uncertainty as few details have been released beyond the initial statement, this is being viewed as a major blow to Mubarak's regime. Not only will the military not fire on the protestors, but they will stand between them and the police to prevent any violence.

Interesting times.

The only thing that worries me about the army is who are they working for. They might be against Mubarak but still with the US. There were high level meetings at the Pentagon when the riots got under way.

www.politico.com...

They get lots and lots of money, hopefully they can break from this control. It might be messy but this is something that needs to change.

They just set the standard for every military on this planet. Kudos to those people.

Very cool.

I heard an al Jazeera report on Mubarak's speech about 30 minutes ago where he said he pledged that the military would not fire on the people, that they were there to provide for their security only.

Wonder which came first or whether the translations for al Jaz and/ or Reuters are accurate.

Good for them! The same would happen here if the military were ever told to police the streets. Guaranteed they would side with the citizens before taking harmful action against us during protests. Hope it never has to be proven, but it would take foreign troops to squash something of that nature on US soil. Guess we'll find out if they ever cancel American Idol.

reply to post by ~Lucidity


The Reuters article was posted Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:57pm EST, all the other links seem to be within a few minutes of each other.

There is no mention of the president making any claim, so I don't know if this is a move by the army itself or a statement based on Mubarak's comments.

Either way, it is a very good sign for the people of Egypt.

Thanks for posting, this was the tipping point in Tunisia as well. It is a great thing when the police and armed forces understand that they are citizens as well!

The sceptic in me will wait to see if the General becomes the "interim" leader, who subsequently doesn't leave or hold elections... we have seen it before. One dictator is happily replaced by another, without having to fire a shot.

But, so far, so good, and I will stay optimistic until proven wrong.

the Billmeister

Originally posted by BobLeeSwagger
Good for them! The same would happen here if the military were ever told to police the streets. Guaranteed they would side with the citizens before taking harmful action against us during protests. Hope it never has to be proven, but it would take foreign troops to squash something of that nature on US soil. Guess we'll find out if they ever cancel American Idol.

Here you go... The US Government's intention to use foreign troops to disarm American Citizens.

reply to post by EssenSieMich


Don't see it happening. There is only one point in our history where foreign troops have ever set foot on our soil, after that never again. Bad move, bad propaganda, there are too many armed citizens. If they seriously think it would work then go ask Yamamoto why he did not land his troops in California as the initial plan was, but instead attacked Pearl Harbor. Simple, Yamamoto did not want to deal with all the US armed citizens. He realized that battle would have been lost before it even began.

reply to post by [davinci]


I misheard. It was an army statement. All the more cool.

Army 'not to use force' in Egypt

Please take a look at this thread. I have been doing some work putting these facts together. This is prelude to a Mid East take over by the US that we have been planning for over a decade. I quote US CIA Hawk of the War Party as my only source because the man is one of the most thorough and effective chiefs I have ever seen. He is not only a game player and insider but a shot caller. James Woolsey. He calls out Mubarak. He calls out Saudi Royals. And he calls out the whole Middle East and has been calling these days for over a decade. I provide proof with direct quotes and sources. Not trying to hijack just spread the info around regarding this topic. Very Important if you want to see the high possibilty of World War Soon. Very Soon. Flashpoint Egypt. Political SHock and Awe in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt Jordan and Lebanon and it problably has them shaking in thier burkas. Mullahs, clerics, and Kings; princes... whoever. I think what happened a few day ago has sparked this revolution. Most people think it just went away. But it didn't!!!
"We are coming for you using your own people."