OUSTED EGYPTIAN president Hosni Mubarak was hospitalised yesterday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he took refuge after his removal from power in mid-February.
He suffered heart problems while being questioned by prosecutors over allegations of illegal profiteering and violence against protesters during the 18-day uprising that toppled him. Mr Mubarak (82) was treated in Germany last year for pancreatic cancer.
His sons, Alaa and Gamal, accused of corruption, were interviewed by judicial officials.
In an interview aired on a satellite channel on Sunday, Mr Mubarak denied allegations against him and vowed to clear himself and his family.
Prime minister Essam Sharaf said “no one is above the law” and declared that legal steps are “under way” to deal with charges levelled against the former president and his family. Banned from travelling abroad, they have resided in Sharm al-Sheikh since he was toppled on February 11th.
Hesham el-Bastawisi, a judge and presidential candidate, observed that the arrest of Mr Mubarak is inevitable. “His attempts to clear his name will convince no one . . . His stay in Sharm el-Sheikh is inappropriate.
“The fact that he’s still in Egypt encourages those behind the counter-revolution to keep it up.”
An Egyptian source told The Irish Times that the situation in the country is “very unclear”. He said Mubarak loyalists and elements of the former ruling National Democratic Party appeared to have been involved in violence in Cairo’s Tahrir Square last weekend.
Loyalists have also threatened to move next Friday into the square, the hub of democratic movement activity, to counter popular pressure on the government to take action against Mr Mubarak. Democracy activists have threatened to stage a “million man” march to Sharm el-Sheikh if he is not put on trial soon. Blogger Hussam el-Hamalawy called Mr Mubarak’s hospitalisation a “soap opera” staged in collusion with the military command to escape questioning while a medical expert consulted by al-Jazeera held that he could have had a crisis due to stress.
The violence used by the army to disperse the protest camp in Tahrir Square early on Saturday has prompted strong criticism of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces from human rights organisations and prompted Mr Sharaf to apologise to those affected by the assault. Two protesters were killed, scores injured and 40 detained during the raid.
But activists carrying sticks and stones moved back into the square and set up barricades which were cleared yesterday by men in civilian clothing allied to the military.
The Revolutionary Youth Coalition which speaks for the democracy movement, is divided over how to deal with the supreme council. The coalition criticised army officers for joining the Tahrir demonstration on Friday and for remaining in the camp overnight on the ground that the protests should remain purely civilian. The recently established Egyptian Social Democratic Party adopted a similar line and insisted on the right of protesters to criticise the military.
Dissenting from the party’s statement, Amr Hamzawi, a leading uprising figure, resigned. He and like-minded activists contend that they must maintain the close connection with the supreme council established when it assumed presidential powers after Mr Mubarak’s fall. Radical members of the coalition have called for the ousting of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, army chief and caretaker president, on the ground he his obstructing democratic reforms.
