Monday, January 31, 2011

Unrest At Egypt


EVACUATING Bruneian students from Egypt remains the top priority of the Brunei Embassy in Cairo which has been rocked by unprecedented anti-government protests.

Bruneian students in Egypt are waiting for a chance to return home via a contingency plan that is being discussed between the Brunei Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MoFAT).

The students who have been relocated to the embassy in Cairo on Sunday said yesterday they were waiting for their flight home in light of escalating tensions in Egypt, The Brunei Times learned yesterday in a telephone interview.

Nurul Muizzatul Ain Hj Idris, 22, an Arabic Language student at Cairo University, said the embassy called for a meeting on Sunday around lunch time, and asked if students wanted to come back to Brunei.

"Our families are worried so we have to come back. My friends at my university have gone back to their countries, and I also want to be home with my family," she said.

The third year student, who has been living in Cairo for the past four months, said there are 101 students, families and officers who have been relocated to the embassy's office in Zamalek.

"We all slept alright last night, and the embassy has been supplying us with enough food," she said.

Nurul Muizzatul Ain also said there are more than 30 Bruneian students in neighbouring Jordan, but they need not return to Brunei because it was "safe" there.

Asked how she felt about the situation, Nurul Muizzatul Ain said, "I am worried about the protests because we do not have this in Brunei."

She has been in close contact with her family and grandmother here since the protests broke out.

It was Sunday an embassy staff called Nurul Muizzatul to tell her they would be picking her up and relocating her.

"We (students) were asked to pack our important documents and clothing, and that the embassy car would pick us up," she said.

The students are not allowed to leave the embassy's premises. They are all praises for the staff for taking good care of their needs.

Earlier in the afternoon, a source at the MoFAT said there was "no change" in the situation, and that all Bruneians there were located at the embassy.

If the situation worsened and endangered the lives of Bruneians, the source said they already had a contingency plan in place.

"We must have contingency plans in case of wars, and we have this at all our embassies in the world, just like other countries. This is to safeguard the safety of our citizens," she said.

"We are assigned to look after our citizens abroad, and we have to make sure they are safe and secure," the source added.

State broadcaster Radio Televisyen Brunei (RTB) reported yesterday that the embassy in Cairo was working closely with MoFAT to send home Bruneians.

Reports said the situation in Tahrir Square yesterday morning was "calm", but efforts to evacuate Bruneians have been made as the main priority to ensure their safety, said Latifah Zaini, the Embassy's Interim Charge D'Affaires, in an interview with RTB last night.

A news report from Reuters said protesters intensified their campaign yesterday to force Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak to quit, due to frustration over repression and the lack of democracy under Mubarak's rule boiled over.

More than 100 people were killed in clashes with security forces in scenes that overturned Egypt's standing as a stable country, promising emerging market and attractive tourist destination, the report added.

In another report, AP yesterday said a coalition of opposition groups called for a million people to take to Cairo's streets today.

It added the coalition of groups said it wants the march from Tahrir, or Liberation Square, to force Mubarak to step down by Friday.

Meanwhile, MoFAT yesterday advised the public to refrain from travelling to Egypt at the moment in the light of the increasing violence in the country.



And here are some of the latest footage from Eygpt posted by various youtubers...





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