The battle for Cairo: 1000 activists arrested

„The White House issued a nuanced written statement in Obama's name on Egypt. »The Egyptian government has an important opportunity to be responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people, and pursue political, economic and social reforms that can improve their lives and help Egypt prosper«, it said. »The United States is committed to working with Egypt and the Egyptian people to advance these goals«, it added.

The statement also underlined US support for basic democratic freedoms »including the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly«. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said the »government is keen to guarantee freedom of expression through legitimate means«, but did not elaborate. The protests are the largest in Egypt since bread riots in 1977, four years before Mubarak came to power.

Among protesters' demands are the departure of the interior minister, whose security forces have been accused of heavy-handedness; an end to a decades-old state of emergency; a rise in minimum wages and an end to rocketing food prices. Political discontent has been rumbling in Egypt since parliamentary elections in November, which were widely seen as rigged to allow candidates from Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party to record a landslide victory.”