GERMANY: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle call on Egypt to immediately start peaceful transition to democracy
Record ID:
560424
GERMANY: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle call on Egypt to immediately start peaceful transition to democracy
- Title: GERMANY: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle call on Egypt to immediately start peaceful transition to democracy
- Date: 5th February 2011
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (FEBRUARY 4, 2011) (REUTERS) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** WIDE OF VILLA BORSIG GERMAN FLAG IN FRONT OF BUILDING UNITED NATIONS (U.N.) SECRETARY GENERAL BAN KI-MOON AND GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER GUIDO WESTERWELLE MEETING FOR TALKS AND SHAKING HANDS CLOSE OF CAMERAS BAN AND WESTERWELLE ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE CLOSE OF CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER GUIDO WESTERWELLE SAYING "Yesterday's clashes reached a new dimension. Foreigners can't escape it, some of them are specifically targeted and threatened. These violent acts against peaceful demonstrators, foreign journalists or observers are not acceptable at all. We dismiss them very clearly and decidedly. Assaults on peaceful demonstrators and journalists have to stop immediately. It's the duty of the Egyptian security services to take care of the safety of foreign observers and journalists." CLOSE OF PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER GUIDO WESTERWELLE, SAYING "Those responsible for these clashes have to be held responsible. The dialogue with the opposition must be broad and without any pre-conditions. We need and support a democratic transition in Egypt, we need and support this democratic transition not sometime, but now. Now is the time for change. A transition to democracy must start now with a peaceful dialogue." WIDE OF BAN AND WESTERWELLE AT NEWS CONFERENCE CLOSE OF PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER GUIDO WESTERWELLE SAYING "It is up to the Egyptian people to decide who will govern Egypt. We stand on the side of democracy, we stand on the side of those who defend human rights and democratic values, but once again it is up to the Egyptian people to decide who will govern Egypt." CLOSE OF PHOTOGRAPHERS
- Embargoed: 20th February 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Germany, Germany
- Country: Germany
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVA64S12QM7UEM721YN0D486VYL
- Story Text: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon met in Berlin on Friday (February 4) for talks about the recent developments in Egypt.
At a news conference after their meeting, Westerwelle expressed his deep concern about violent acts against demonstrators and foreign journalists.
"These violent acts against peaceful demonstrators, foreign journalists or observers are not acceptable at all. We dismiss them very clearly and decidedly. Assaults on peaceful demonstrators and journalists have to stop immediately," he said.
Both Westerwelle and Ban urged Egypt to start a peaceful dialogue for an immediate transition to democracy.
"Now it's the time for change. A transition to democracy must start now with a peaceful dialogue", Westerwelle said. "We stand on the side of those who defend human rights and democratic values, but once again it is up to the Egyptian people to decide who will govern Egypt," he added.
"Now it's the time for Egyptians to begin a process of peaceful and orderly transition leading to free and fair elections, respecting the genuine will of Egyptian people expressed so far through their demonstrations. United Nations stand ready to assist in this process," Ban added.
On his visit to Germany, Ban is going to participate in the security conference in Munich on Saturday (February 5), where he is scheduled to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In Cairo on Friday, tens of thousands of people gathered in the city's Liberation Square to press for an end to Mubarak's 30-year rule, hoping their numbers would swell to a million in what they called the "Day of Departure."
Mubarak says he is willing to retire but, having portrayed himself as a bulwark against radical Islam in the most populous Arab state, has warned of chaos if he goes now. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None