On Sunday afternoon, I watched a report on Al-Jazeera (Arabic) stating that Egypt’s Higher Defense Council (the equivalent of America’s National Security Council) had held a meeting, presided over by Mubarak, to discuss the latest developments in Tunisia.
According to Al-Jazeera correspondent, it was decided in the meeting to scrap off govt plans to raise prices and taxes in the coming period, and a clear directive was issued to the security forces to avoid any “provocative acts” against the citizens, for fear of a replication of the Tunisian events.
I have been glued for hours in front of Al-Jazeera, but this report was not aired again, and I think it’s safe to say it’s been aired only once. And I couldn’t find any reference to it on the channel’s website or its Youtube channel.
The only reference I can find now to the report, is the denial published in Al-Ahram, by Mubarak’s spokesperson Suleiman Awad. The latter described Al-Jazeera’s report as “fabricated,” and also denied any plans by the govt to raise prices and taxes in the first place.
I’m very much inclined to believe Al-Jazeera’s report, especially when this meeting was confirmed to me by another well placed media source. I wonder if Al-Jazeera came under pressure not to re-air the report?
Mubarak must be extremely worried at the moment. He’s old, in a bad shape, and is expected to die at any moment. Is his son ready for succession? My answer is no. The whole establishment must be shaking, and I’m sure there are all sorts of emergency plans being put in place to rescue our royal family if an uprising takes place similar to the one in Tunisia (or in Egypt ’77). I’m sure everyone at the top is trembling. And for a good reason. The Egyptian people will revolt. And when they do they will show our Ben Alis no mercy for the crimes they’ve committed over the past three decades.