Obama optimistic about Egypt as negotiators make concessions
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – President Obama said Monday he believed Egypt was close to ending its civil strife as government negotiators agreed to concessions with opposition leaders.
Protesters are demanding the immediate resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who they accuse of corruption and human rights abuses.
“I think they’re making progress,” Obama told reporters after speaking to business leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman announced Monday that government employees would get a 15 percent pay increase in an effort to win back popular support.
He also said he would set out new procedures within a month to hold free elections.
Suleiman’s made the promises on the same day media reports described startling increases in personal wealth for Mubarak’s top advisors after they joined his administration.
Several of them are being investigated by prosecutors on corruption charges.
The Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm estimated the personal fortune of Ahmed Ezz, Organization Secretary of Egypt’s ruling party at $3 billion. Before he joined Mubarak’s administration, prosecutors said Ezz had $300,000 in 1989.
Former Housing Minister Ahmed al-Maghraby’s fortune was estimated at $1.8 billion. Former Tourism Minister Zuhair Garrana had $2.2 billion and former Minister of Trade and Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid has $2 billion in personal wealth, the newspaper reported.
Three Egyptian ministers have tried to leave the country in recent days but were denied permission to travel while they remain under investigation, Egyptian news reports said.
The average Egyptian earns $60 a week, according to Egyptian government statistics.
Obama reiterated his belief that it is time for Mubarak to leave office after 30 years as Egypt’s president.
“Egypt is not going to go back to what it was,” Obama said Sunday in an interview on the Fox television network. “The Egyptian people want freedom. They want free and fair elections; they want a representative government; they want a responsive government.”
Thousands of protesters continued Monday to occupy Cairo’s Tahrir Square, which has been the site of dozens of killings by police, the military and Mubarak’s supporters.
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