Egypt violence seems to backfire on Mubarak

Pro and anti-Mubarak supporters clash during rioting at Tahrir Square in Cairo yesterday. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

CAIRO, (Reuters) – Violence against Egyptian  protesters by Hosni Mubarak loyalists appeared to backfire yesterday, drawing criticism from the United States, which  hardened its stance on the president’s political future.

General view during anti-government clashes with supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Tahrir Square in Cairo yesterday. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

The activists who have staged unprecedented protests against  Mubarak said the rough tactics had also hardened their resolve.

The extent of their determination will become clear tomorrow, when the protesters have called another mass rally to  demand the 82-year old president step down.

Scenes of men claiming loyalty to Mubarak armed with sticks  and knives might also have undermined some of the sympathy the  president generated during his televised address on Tuesday,  when he announced he would not seek re-election in September.

But public relations appeared to be of no importance to  whoever was behind the violence: reporters were also attacked,  including foreigners, in what the Committee to Protect  Journalists said was an effort at “blanket censorship”.

Demonstrators take cover during rioting between pro and anti Mubarak supporters in Tahrir Square in Cairo yesterday. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

By nightfall, the protesters were still holding their ground  in Tahrir Square, scene of yesterday’s violence and the hub for  the anti-Mubarak protests over the last week. Whether they stay  or leave might not matter that much.

The anti-Mubarak protest movement has generated great  momentum over the last nine days. Were the protesters to leave  the square, they would likely be able to regroup for Friday,  harnessing the social media that allowed them to organise.

“If they’re attacked as they were today, by armed young men,  then there’s the potential for real instability,” said Elijah  Zarwan, a senior Cairo-based analyst with International Crisis  Group. “I fear it could be a harbinger of further unrest.”

In Washington, a vital ally for Egypt, a senior U.S.  official, speaking privately, shared the assessment of  protesters and witnesses in Cairo that someone loyal to Mubarak  had unleashed gangs of armed men to intimidate the protesters.

“UNCLE MUBARAK”

In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron also took  seriously the idea that the government was behind the violence.

“If it turns out that the regime in any way has been  sponsoring or tolerating this violence, that would be completely  and utterly unacceptable. These are despicable scenes that we’re  seeing,” Cameron told reporters.

Pro and anti-Mubarak supporters clash during rioting at Tahrir Square in Cairo yesterday. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

Speaking after a day of violence in which at least three  Egyptians were killed and 1,500 wounded, White House spokesman  Robert Gibbs said the United States wanted an immediate start to  some form of unspecified transition. “Now means now,” he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Omar Suleiman,  appointed deputy president by Mubarak this week, that a  transition has to begin now.

In his speech on Tuesday, Mubarak, ruler for three decades,  offered concessions including promises of constitutional reform.

That was not good enough for the protesters, who are seeking  his immediate exit and deep change in the way the autocratic  Arab state is governed. More than a million people demonstrated  across the country on Tuesday.

In an effort to counter the anti-Mubarak tide, loyalists had  staged peaceful protests across Cairo earlier in the day,  focusing on his promises of reform. In one, children with “Uncle  Mubarak” daubed on their cheeks waved the Egyptian colours.

Yet by mid-afternoon, scenes of men on horses and camels,  armed with whips and sticks, charging the protesters in Tahrir  Square dominated live coverage by Arab satellite networks.

Journalists were among those attacked by Mubarak loyalists  on Wednesday, the New York-based Committee to Protect  Journalists said.

“What happened has cast a very negative shadow on the  Mubarak government. It tarnishes his image abroad,” said  Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid, a political scientist.

Hassan Nafaa, a political scientist and leading opposition  figure, said the violence was a “stupid, desperate move by the  ruling National Democratic Party and state apparatus”.

“This will not put an end to the protests,” he said. “This  is not a Tahrir Square revolution, it is a general uprising.”