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Egypt’s Mubarak says he won’t run for a new term
CAIRO (AP) – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he will not run for a new term in office in September elections, but rejected demands that he step down immediately and leave the country, vowing to die on Egypt’s soil, in a television address after a dramatic day in which a quarter-million protesters called on him to go. [ VIDEO]
Mubarak, a former air force commander, resolutely vowed not to flee the country. “This dear nation .. is where I lived, I fought for it and defended its soil, sovereignty and interests. On its soil I will die. History will judge me like it did others.”
His speech came after a visiting envoy of President Barack Obama told Mubarak that his ally the United States sees his presidency at an end. Frank Wisner, a respected former U.S. ambassador to Egypt who is a friend of the Egyptian president, made clear to Mubarak that the U.S “view that his tenure as president is coming to close,” according to an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the ongoing diplomacy.
Mubarak: I will not run in next presidential elections
(JPost) – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced that he will not be running in the next Egyptian presidential elections. Mubarak claimed that he had not intended to run in the coming elections.
He stated that his top responsibility was to restore stability and security to the nation, to safeguard the people and to pave the way for a peaceful transition to the next elected president.
Mubarak said that he had made changes in his government in the face of protests and instructed his newly minted Vice President Omar Suleiman to engage in dialogue with all opposition parties. He stated that certain political forces turned a blind eye to the invitation to dialogue in order to serve there own interests.
Mubarak said that he would die on Egyptian soil and history would remember him for his merits.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
