I’ve just watched the interview with Vice-President Omar Suleiman on television. There are a couple of concessions. Confirmation that Gamal Mubarak will not run for office; an offer to talk to the Muslim Brotherhood. But, overall, it struck me as an ominous interview.
There is the denunciation of “foreign interference” – the kind of thing you always hear from governments that want to blame their troubles on outsiders. (The Burmese and the Chinese were always keen on that line.) There is the talk of the risk of chaos. And the stress on the economic losses caused by the demonstrations. All the excuses are being put in place for repression.
The sense that a bloody crackdown may be in the offing is strenghtened by the news that they are starting to arrest foreign journalists and confiscate their equipment. What is it that they don’t want people to see?
If there is a crackdown in preparation – an effort to re-take Tahrir Square by force, for example – then I suspect it may be coming soon. It would suit the authorities well to have the square clear by dusk on Friday.
Related reading:
Egypt in turmoil – FT
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