Egyptian expats foresee worse trouble

Around the world, expatriate Egyptians were tuned in to radio, television, and streaming webcasts — awaiting President Hosni Mubarak’s words and confidently expecting a resignation.

For many who had fled repression and corruption in the country, the overwhelming response was disappointment.

The CBC’s Dave Seglins sat with a group of Egyptian-Canadians who watched Thursday's events unfold live on television at a restaurant in suburban Mississauga, Ont.

Businessman Emad Barsoum, who left Egypt and involvement in politics there back in 2001 over what he calls corruption and abuses, shook his head and laughed at Mubarak's remarks.

"Huh! He’s still the president! … How come? Eighteen million don’t want him, and still he insists."

Fellow expat and political reformer Mohamed Fetaih said the world got a glimpse Thursday of a tyrant, who is out of touch.

"He doesn’t listen … he doesn’t want to understand … he doesn’t get the message."

Fetaih forecast more demonstrations in Cairo tomorrow.

The group of friends had acknowledged some fears of what the future might hold had Mubarak stepped down.

Instead, said Nagy Salib from half a world away, he now fears the immediate repercussions — and potential powder keg across Egypt and the Middle East.

"I believe tomorrow is going to be a very, very big scandal in the streets of Egypt … anger."

In Ottawa, a group of Egyptian-Canadians gathered at a house to watch Mubarak's speech. While they waited for it to start, they spoke by phone and by Skype with protesters in Tahrir Square.

Everyone in the room was disappointed, and they were fearful about violence in the coming hours.

"Absolutely a joke — he's not even close to being in touch with what the people are asking him to do, said Shrouk Abdelgaffar. "I have a really sickening feeling in my stomach that he has the army in his pocket.

"I think tomorrow will be a bloodbath on the streets of Cairo."

Marwan Kamaly agreed: "I was hoping he would step down. Hopefully, the army will stand with the interests of the people. Tomorrow, there's going to be a war, basically, on the streets. The streets are going to be on fire."

Cannon urges restraint

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said it is for the Egyptians themselves to decide who will govern them.

"We urge all parties to show restraint and resolve the crisis," he said. "Again, Canada urges the government of Egypt to heed the voice of the Egyptian people and begin an orderly, democratic transition to free and fair elections."

Canada's travel advisory has not changed, he said. The government advises "against all travel to Egypt, due to demonstrations and protests, civil unrest, high levels of criminal activity and violence throughout the country, and the threat of terrorist attacks."

Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae, appearing on CBC's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon, said the world and even U.S. President Obama appear to have been badly misled by Mubarak's regime.

"I think what that probably reflects is a very serious fight for power, differences of opinion within the governing circles in Egypt, a president who is very resistant to being rushed out or to being pushed out .…"

NDP critic Paul Dewar told the CBC's Solomon that Canada faces a challenge in responding to the crisis. "We don't play the role that we used to play in the region. That's just reality," said Dewar.

In Washington, the CBC's Susan Bonner said: "This is hardly the transformational moment that President Barack Obama was hoping for."

For some, Mubarak's speech had to be a surprise. Earlier Thursday, CIA Director Leon Panetta had said U.S. intelligence indicated that Mubarak was on his way out. Panetta told Congress his information indicated a "high likelihood" that Mubarak could be out by Thursday night.

British Foreign Minister William Hague said the consequences of Mubarak's address remained unclear, and he repeated Britain's call for a quick transition to a more representative government.

Hague said that even as Britain studies the speech, it will continue to push for "an urgent but orderly transition to a more broadly based government in Egypt."