Egypt protests: views from around the Middle East

Correspondents from the Guardian, Der Spiegel and El País report from around the region on reaction to protests in Egypt Here’s another set of interviews with reporters from a group of media organisations who have teamed up with the Guardian to provide comprehensive coverage of the seismic events in Egypt and the shockwaves they are sending through the region. Today, we hear from correspondents with El País and Der Spiegel, as well as Guardian journalists. Jordan: Martin Chulov of the Guardian in Amman “There is a mood to give the king and the new government a bit more time … People will watch to see whether the king does have the capacity to push the reforms that he’s promising because if he doesn’t the situation here will turn very quickly. So far, so calm. The atmosphere doesn’t seem to be nearly as ripe as it was in Tunis or in Egypt but people do share similar frustrations. For now they are quietly confident that they can achieve what they want without taking to the street and forcing revolution.” Egypt: Enric González of El País in Cairo “Things are much quieter than yesterday when we were sometimes running for our lives and the situation was chaotic in the square … The majority of regular people who are not going to the square are watching TV very anxiously. They cannot buy tomatoes or eggs and they can’t go to work and they are waiting for something to happen. They want some normality. The Tiananmen [square] option is still open, although it’s very unlikely. Inside the regime, they are probably trying to cook up a solution that allows some normality for a country that cannot wait much longer.” Egypt: Volkhard Windfuhr of Der Spiegel in Cairo “There is a general sigh of relief [from protesters that protests today have been non-violent]. People feel that the so-far silent unarmed majority has now become the victors. They really gave a heavy blow — maybe a fatal blow — to an oppressive regime. That’s the feeling, although there are still obstacles to overcome … The army knows it will no longer be the only backbone of Egypt once the political reforms are put into effect — not in the way they have been — but I do think the vast majority of Egyptians are certain that the army will not play a negative role in the days to come.” Yemen: Tom Finn of the Guardian in Sana’a “People here are very aware of what’s happening in Egypt and are following the news very closely. But while people watch it, they don’t really seem to draw parallels with Yemen. The people I have spoken to don’t see any similarities between Mubarak and Saleh. I think there’s a lot more support for Saleh in Yemen than there is for Mubarak in Egypt.” Egypt Middle East Sam Jones guardian.co.uk

Posted by on February 4, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry