Egypt protests: Impatient Obama calls for credible transition

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has called on the Egyptian government to come forward with a “credible, concrete and unequivocal” path to democracy.

Addressing the nation, Obama said Egyptians “remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy”.

“The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient. The Egyptian government must put forward a credible, concrete and unequivocal path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity,” the BBC quoted Obama, as saying in a nationally televised address.

After the speech, Obama convened a meeting with his national security team at the White House.

Though President Mubarak has tried to reach out to the people, he has refused to resign and only restated his commitments to constitutional reforms and a peaceful transition of power in September’s election.

He mentioned handing some powers to his vice-president, crucially without expanding on this point.

Some parts of this speech were condescending, with the president addressing Egyptians as “a father to his children”. He also answered rumours he had left the country by stating: “I will not separate from the soil until I am buried beneath it.”

Anger looks set to increase with more demonstrations already planned to follow Friday prayers. Many people chanted “tomorrow, tomorrow” as they left Tahrir Square.

President Obama has urged restraint from all sides, and said it was “imperative that the government not respond to the aspirations of their people with repression or brutality”. (ANI)