Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Zuma: Mubarak made correct decision

4 min read
All in good time: Army refuses to relinquish control of Egypt
All in good time: Army refuses to relinquish control of Egypt

President Jacob Zuma said Egypt President Hosni Mubarak had “thought like a leader” and made the right choice to step down from power on Friday.

“Our wish was that the Egyptian problem must be resolved peacefully, the transition must be peaceful,” said Zuma in a South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) television news report.

Change comes to Egypt

Every step of the way, the basic fact of the uprising in Egypt has become more obvious and more explicit: with each new confrontation, the protestors have realised, and demonstrated, that they are more powerful than their oppressors.

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“We therefore thank him for having thought like a leader, to place the interests of Egypt above his own, and taken the correct decision to leave.”

South Africa hoped that those who had been calling for Mubarak’s departure will be in a position to “pick up the situation and build a government that will be based on the will of the people”, Zuma added.

Reaction from other countries:

  • United States — US Vice-President Joe Biden said the change of power in Egypt was a “pivotal” moment in history for that country and the Middle East. The transition in Egypt must be one of “irreversible” change, he said.

President Barack Obama is to deliver a statement on Egypt at 6.30 GMT.

  • European Union — “The EU respects President Mubarak’s decision today. By standing down, he has listened to the voices of the Egyptian people and has opened the way to faster and deeper reforms,” EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton said.

    • “It is important now that the dialogue is accelerated leading to a broad-based government which will respect the aspirations of, and deliver stability for, the Egyptian people.”

    “The future of Egypt rightly remains in the hands of the Egyptian people. The EU stands ready to help in any way it can.”

  • Israel — “It’s too early to foresee how [the resignation] will affect things,” a senior Israeli official said. “We hope that the change to democracy in Egypt will happen without violence and that the peace accord will remain.”
  • Gaza — “The resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is the beginning of the victory of the Egyptian revolution,” said Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri.

    • “Such a victory was the result of the sacrifices and the steadfastness of the Egyptian people,” he said.

    “We call upon the new Egyptian leadership to take an immediate decision to lift the blockade of Gaza and open Rafah [border] crossing permanently to allow people’s free movement and in order for the reconstruction process of Gaza to begin,” Abu Zuhri said.

  • Britain — “Egypt now has a really precious moment of opportunity to have a government that can bring the country together. As a friend of Egypt and the Egyptian people we stand ready to help in any way we can,” said British Prime Minister David Cameron.

    • “We believe it must be a government that starts to put in place the building blocks of a truly open, free and democratic society,” he told BBC television.

    “What has happened today should only be the first step. Those who now run Egypt have a duty to reflect the wishes of the Egyptian people and in particular there really must be a move to civilian and democratic rule as part of this important transition to an open, democratic and free Egypt,” he added.

  • Germany — “Today is a day of great joy,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference. “We are all witness to an historic change. I share the joy of the people of Egypt, with the millions of people on the streets of Egypt.”
  • Arab League — “I look forward to the future to build a national consensus in the coming period. There is a big chance now and a window has opened after this white revolution and after the president’s concession,” the Egyptian secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, al-Arabiya television.

    • Asked if he was interested in being president, he said: “This is not the time to talk about that … As an Egyptian citizen, I am proud to serve my country with all the others at this stage, to build a consensus of opinion.”

  • Qatar — “This is a positive, important step towards the Egyptian people’s aspirations of achieving democracy and reform and a life of dignity,” said a statement from the Emir’s royal council said.
  • India — Friday welcomed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation and the commitment by military leaders “to establish an open and democratic framework of governance.”