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Egyptians demand Mubarak to step down

Amid arising conflicts between police and protestors, the Egyptian masses refuse to leave the streets until President Mubarak would step down.

Press TV interviewed Richard Becker of A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition regarding the popular Egyptian uprising and how the US is worried about keeping their influence on the region.

Press TV: Richard Becker from A.N.S.W.E.R coalition joins us on the phone from Berkley to give us his insight regarding the uprising that is occurring in Egypt. Richard Becker thanks for joining us. Maybe hours ago and perhaps still continuing are crisis talks that are being held on this issue with Mr. Obama’s national security advising team. Do you think that the United States is scrambling to deal with Egypt right now?

Becker: Absolutely, and I just came from a demonstration that we organized in San Francisco and more than a thousand people marched on the main street of San Francisco in solidarity with the people in Egypt joining with people all over the country. So this is an international issue of the greatest importance. The Middle East has been the highest priority not only for the Obama Administration but its predecessors as well. And Egypt has been the center of a strategy for domination of the region. The United States, Israel and the Arab regimes are under the control and domination of Washington that are put together. This is the foundation of the US policy of domination in the region. So what’s happening in Egypt today as well as what’s happening in Tunisia but especially Egypt because it’s the largest of the Arab countries and borders Israel. What’s happening there is critical to the continuation of US policy in the Middle East.

Press TV: What is the best case and worst case scenario for Egypt and the West, and in particular the United States?

Becker: Well I think that the best case scenario is that there would arise a people’s government in Egypt; that a true people’s government would come to power and not one that is managed by and under the domination of Washington; but one that would serve the real interests of the Egyptian people. We have seen this long bloody, brutal, corrupt history of the Mubarak regime fully supported by the United States. The IMF and World Bank’s austerity plans have impoverished so many while making wealth for the rich minority. All of this is contrary to the interests of the vast majority of the Egyptian people, so we hope that the outcome is not just a reshuffling of the chairs and the seats. So even if Mubarak is out but the same regime remains there, it will not advance the true interests and agenda of the Egyptian people.

Press TV: When trying to figure out a way to characterize the US foreign policy when looking into the Middle East, would you say at this point it’s scrambled?

Becker: Well they felt that they had the control of the situation. And all this talk about the need for reform and urging the Mubarak government to show restraint and all that is only because of the tremendous uprising of the people in Tunisia. That is what has scrambled the US policy. They don’t know exactly what to do. They are fighting it out among themselves in Washington as you mentioned they are meeting. But you know, should they try to keep Mubarak in? Is he their main guarantor for stability, or will they have Mubarak go now? You know in the past the US has moved other dictators once their usefulness had ended, if you think back to Marcos in the Philippines or Duvalier in Haiti. They are certainly willing to do that, but they are not sure whether or not they can control the situation. They are trying in every way to do exactly that.

Press TV: We just ran a report where a hand of an Egyptian was being held in the air, and rubber bullets were being emptied on all the five fingers of the Egyptian. Some of these are made in the US. The people power seems to be underestimated by the US. Isn’t that what the US has to worry about?

Becker: I think the rulers always underestimate the power of the people. They become confident, they become arrogant over the years when they dominate and the people seem passive. In Egypt the passivity is an outgrowth of the extreme brutality of the regime. But they underestimate it because at the end it is always the power of the people that is decisive. And yes it is not only the rubber bullets but it’s the personnel carriers, the water cannon, the tear gas and body armor. The United States has armed the Egyptian security forces to the teeth over the years not for external purposes, but so that security apparatus could suppress the genuine aspirations of the Egyptian people. And that time has come to an end.

Press TV: Thank you very much. That was Richard Becker from A.N.S.W.E.R coalition in Berkley.

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