Egypt's military pledges to uphold all treaties

Monday, February 14, 2011   E-Mail this story   Free Headline Alerts

CAIRO — Egypt's military, having arranged for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, has pledged to honor Egypt's international treaties.

"The Arab republic of Egypt will remain committed to all its regional and international treaties," the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces said on Feb. 12.

Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi was said to have been in nearly daily contact with the United States and helped engineer Mubarak's ouster.

At the same time, several leading members of the Mubarak regime were said to have been arrested. They included Egyptian Information Minister Anas Al Fiqi, who had been in charge of the state media.

Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Nazif, has been prevented from leaving the country. Egypt's official news agency, Middle East News Agency, said similar orders have been imposed on former Interior Minister Habib Adli and Tourism Minister Zuheir Garana.

On Feb. 11, Mubarak resigned one day after vowing to remain until the end of his term in September 2011. Vice President Omar Suleiman said Egypt's military would be responsible for all decisions, including security and foreign relations.

"President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave the post of president of the republic and has tasked the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to manage the state's affairs," Suleiman, whose authority appeared unclear, said.

One of the military's first acts was to reduce the oft-violated curfew throughout Egypt and dismantle checkpoints in downtown Cairo. The military said the curfew would begin at midnight and end at 6 a.m. Since Jan. 28, the curfew began at 8 p.m.

"The armed forces council calls on the people to cooperate with the policemen," Egyptian Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Sami Anan said. "We ask our policemen to adhere to their slogan: Police are at the people's service."

Officials said the military would retain much of the Mubarak regime until elections. They said this would include the governors of provinces, civil service, police and all government departments.

"The current government and governors undertake to manage affairs until the formation of a new government," the military said in a statement on Egyptian television.

The military council, led by Tantawi, has moved to disband parliament, long dominated by Mubarak's National Democratic Party.

At this point, Mubarak was believed to be in the presidential palace in Sharm e-Sheik in the Sinai Peninsula. Later, Switzerland said it was freezing Mubarak's assets found in that European country.

The opposition appears to have accepted the suspension of its protest campaign in wake of Mubarak's departure on Feb. 11. But organizers said the opposition was forming a 20-member council that would meet with the military and discuss policy.

"The purpose of the Council of Trustees is to hold dialogue with the Higher Military Council and to carry the revolution forward through the transitional phase," Khaled Abdel Qader Ouda, an opposition leader, said. "The council will have the authority to call for protests or call them off depending on how the situation develops."

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