Advertisement

EGYPT: Human rights activists call for Hosni Mubarak to step down

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Human Rights First issued a statement Thursday calling for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down after his address to the nation.

“President Mubarak’s statement this evening has not advanced the transition towards a more democratic Egypt and has intensified the crisis,’ wrote Neil Hicks, international policy advisor at the New York-based nonprofit. ‘Proposals for constitutional reform supervised by regime loyalists hold no credibility. For democratic and human rights reforms to advance, power must shift decisively from President Mubarak and his military advisors, including Vice-President Omer Suleiman, to a more inclusive transitional authority.

Advertisement

Hicks wrote that Mubarak’s refusal to relinquish power “increases the possibility of open confrontation between protestors and military forces, a situation that would represent the worst case scenario on the streets on Egypt.’

Hicks also called on U.S. leaders to intervene.

‘The Obama administration must use all their powers of persuasion to encourage Egypt’s leaders, and especially Egypt’s military establishment, to respond to the demands of the Egyptian people with an unequivocal and immediate move towards the formation of an inclusive transitional authority,” he wrote. RELATED

Mubarak refuses to step down, delegates some powers

Before speech, protesters told demands met

Full coverage of the uprising in Egypt: News, photos, video and more

— Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Advertisement