ECM WORLD WATCH BULLETIN: EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT MUBARAK RESIGNS

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World, U.S. and local leaders react to peaceful toppling of regime by Egyptians seeking democracy


February 11, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak announced his resignation today, following 18 days of massive protests by Egyptians demanding democracy.
 

The Egyptian military is currently in charge, leaving questions over who will ultimately fill the void left by Mubarak and when democratic elections may occur. Still, news of Mubarak’s departure has been greeted with cheers in the streets of Cairo and cautious optimism by most world leaders.

 

“In Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence—not terrorism, not mindless killing…that bent the arc of history toward justice once more,” President Barack Obama said, also making clear that “Nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day.” He called for enactment of key legal reforms to bring “all of Egypt’s voices to the table.”
 

San Diego Democratic Congresswoman Susan Davis issued a statement which read in part, “Americans and people worldwide who strove for their own freedom and democracy can identify with the exuberance felt by Egyptians today.” Noting that significant challenges remain, Davis added, “I am hopeful that Egypt and the United States will maintain a strong strategic partnership which is so vital toward long term peace in the region and that the next government in Cairo will maintain strong ties with their partners in Israel and the region.”
 

House speaker John Boehner, a Republican, observed, “I hope this will lead to an orderly transition to a more orderly government.”
 

Former Israeli Ambassador to Cairo Zvi Mazel observed that Mubarak kept peace with Israel, where concerns over whether the new government will maintain that peace remain. “He was leading the war against Iran, against radical Islam,” Mazel said, Voice of America reports.
 


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