Australians warned to leave Egypt as civil unrest continues

Australians are being warned to leave Egypt as quickly as possible, with ongoing civil unrest turning violent as reports suggest dozens are dead and several thousand wounded in the demonstrations intended to overthrow president Hosni Mubarak after 30 years in power.

However, the economic impact of the protests is likely to be small, according to AusTrade chief economist Tim Harcourt, with Egypt remaining a small trading partner mostly acting as an importer of wheat.

“Egypt is a small trading partner with Australia – two way trade is worth around $411 million and they’d be our 52nd most important trading partner,” he says.

Egyptian officials have also said they will continue to purchase the same amount of wheat in the foreseeable future.

According to the latest warnings published by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Egypt’s travel warning has been upgraded to its highest level, “do not travel”. Australian residents have been urged to leave the country as quickly as possible, with over 800 already registered at the local embassy.

The chaos has continued on the streets of Cairo. Hundreds of prisoners from four different jails were set free after overpowering guards. Many are members of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organisation which hopes to be part of any new government.

Foreign minister Kevin Rudd has said more staff have been sent to the embassy in Cairo.

“We advise you not to travel to Egypt because of ongoing civil unrest and the high threat of terrorist attack,” the Department of Foreign Affairs has warned on its website. “If you are currently in Egypt, and concerned about the security situation, you should leave if it is safe to do so. Dependents of Embassy staff have been authorised to leave on a voluntary basis.”

Australians have also been warned regarding disruptions in the country’s communications, with the Egyptian Government having restricted access to internet and mobile phone networks.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said the Government will continue updating its website to ensure Australians are not harmed.

”The Australian Government certainly understands the desire of the people of Egypt for reform, for democracy – we understand that – but we are monitoring the situation closely and calling on everybody to exercise calm and restraint,” she said in a new conference, ”to make sure that the security forces are being restrained, and also to make sure that demonstrations are peaceful.”

International airports have remained open but several flights have been either cancelled or delayed.

The Government is now clinging onto power, with Mubarak holding meetings with military commanders to control the streets – which are now devoid of civil police. Thousands have continued to defy curfews lasting until 8am.

Mubarak has also ordered the local Al-Jazeera offices be closed and journalists vacate the country, but the organisation has warned that it will continue to operate from the streets.

Mubarak has announced he will sack the current government and form a new government tomorrow, but all signs point to protests continuing until he has resigned and a totally new administration is formed.

The protests began on January 25, with demonstrations in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. Many thousands have now joined the demonstrations, which have quickly turned violent – looting is rampant and there are reports several police stations have been set on fire.
Meanwhile, social networking service Twitter, which has played a prominent role during the demonstrations as Egyptians have used tweets and text messages to organise protests, has published a blog post seemingly condemning Egypt’s control of the internet.

“Our position on freedom of expression carries with it a mandate to protect our users’ right to speak freely and preserve their ability to contest having their private information revealed,” it said.

“Some tweets may facilitate positive change in a repressed country, some make us laugh, some make us think, some downright anger a vast majority of users. We don’t always agree with the things people choose to tweet, but we keep the information flowing irrespective of any view we may have about the content.”