Egypt's VP warns protests 'must end soon'

Feb 08, 2011
By Michael Winter,
USA TODAY

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian anti-government demonstrators jammed Cairo's Tahrir Square today, the 15th consecutive day of protests demanding the ouster of embattled President Hosni Mubarak. Vice President Omar Suleiman later warned that the protests must end soon and said the regime will remain.
CAPTION
By Pedro Ugarte, AFP/Getty Images
In an ominous warning after more than two weeks of turmoil, Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman says that "we can't put up with" continued protests in Cairo's central Tahrir Square for a long time and that the crisis must end soon, the state-run MENA news agency is reporting.

Suleiman also said during a meeting with newspaper executives that there will be "no ending of the regime" and no immediate departure for President Hosni Mubarak, The Associated Press writes.

He said the regime wants "dialogue" to resolve calls for democratic reforms, according to AP. "We don't want to deal with Egyptian society with police tools," he said.

"The presence of the protesters in Tahrir Square and some satellite stations insulting Egypt and belittling it makes citizens hesitant to go to work," he said. "We can't put up with this for a long time, and this crisis must be ended as soon as possible."

He warned that calls by some protesters for a campaign of civil disobedience are "very dangerous for society and we can't put up with this at all," AP writes.