Egypt's Foreign Minister indignant over Washington’s "imposing" its will on Cairo

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's Foreign Minister has rebuffed calls from Washington to speed up the pace of political reform. Rejecting a US demand to lift a state of emergency, Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Washington should not "impose" its will on "a great country".

Many thousands of Egyptians have been protesting since January 25 calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down. Wednesday saw protests in Cairo spread to Egypt's parliament, with violence and reports of strikes in other cities.

In reply to Mr Aboul Gheit, the White House said Egypt's transition plans were not yet enough to satisfy those calling for change. "I think it is clear that what the government has thus far put forward has yet to meet a minimum threshold for the people of Egypt," spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

In his PBS interview, Mr Aboul Gheit said Egypt was enduring an "upheaval", and was sharply critical of US statements on Egypt, including Vice-President Joe Biden. Explicit calls from Mr Biden for "prompt, immediate" action from Egypt were tantamount to "imposing your will" on a long-time ally of the US, Mr Aboul Gheit said.

On the issue of Egypt's emergency law, in place for four decades, Mr Aboul Gheit described himself as "amazed" by Mr Biden's reported comments for it to be lifted. Jailbreaks amid the recent street protests meant that 17,000 prisoners are now loose on Egypt's streets, the foreign minister said. "How can you ask me to disband the... emergency law while I'm in difficulty? Give me time. Allow me to have control, to stabilise the nation, to stabilise the state, and then we would... look into the issue."

After an initial reluctance to become publicly involved in Egypt's internal disputes, the White House has in recent days repeatedly called for an "orderly transition" in Egypt. But Mr Aboul Gheit was critical of Washington's posture during the early days of protest. "The first four, five days, it was a confusing message. And I was often angry, infuriated. But, through discussions with the administration, I think now we have an administration that understands exactly the difficulties of the situation and the dangers and the risks that are entailed in a rush towards chaos without end. So... the administration's message now is much better,"

The tens of thousands of protesters taking to the streets of Cairo and other cities over the past 16 days have called overwhelmingly for Hosni Mubarak, the country's long-serving president, to step down immediately. Mr Mubarak has said he intends to step down after presidential elections, due to be held in September. Newly appointed Vice-President Omar Suleiman has begun a process of talks with opposition political figures. But opposition groups fear the government is stalling for time and will fail to enact meaningful changes, BBC News reported.