LONDON: World leaders hailed the Egyptian revolution that led to President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, but other authoritarian regimes weren’t celebrating — and some were trying to censor the news.
In China, where the ruling Communist Party ruthlessly stamps out dissent, terse media reports downplayed the large-scale pro-democracy protests in Egypt that forced Mubarak from power and instead emphasized the country’s disorder and lawlessness.
In oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, where coup leader Teodoro Obiang has been in power since 1979, state-controlled media was ordered to stop reporting about Egypt altogether, according to African news site afrol.com.
Meanwhile, a day after the resignation of Egypt’s longtime leader Hosni Mubarak, Obama phoned world leaders, reaffirming his support for the people of Egypt whose 18 days of protests led to Mubarak’s ouster. Obama pledged US assistance and financial support as Egypt moves toward free and fair elections, the White House said.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd commended Egyptians on what he called a clear and courageous protest movement.
"My view is that the people of this most ancient civilization truly deserve a most modern of democracies," Rudd told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Japan and South Korea issued statements noting Mubarak’s resignation, while India — which with Egypt was one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War — said it welcomed Mubarak’s decision to step down "in deference to the wishes of the people of Egypt."
In Indonesia and the Philippines, two countries whose own "people power" revolts toppled long-ruling dictators, the praise was more fulsome, although there were words of warning too.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, son of the late President Corazon Aquino — the country’s democracy icon who was swept to power in a revolt that toppled the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos — welcomed the "relatively peaceful resolution" of the political crisis in Egypt, saying it showed that "aspirations for a more free and fair society are universal."
The country’s left-wing alliance Bayan, which fought Marcos and has remained a critic of succeeding regimes, expressed hope that "the great unity and determination of the Egyptian people inspire others worldwide in their fight against tyranny."
"The importance of people power has once again been affirmed," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes. "What comes after people power however, is another difficult challenge, as we Filipinos well know."
In Thailand, which has been rocked by demonstrations aimed at forcing the country’s prime minister to step down, protest leader Thida Thavornseth said Egypt’s experience had shown "that the power of the people is enormous and triumphant."
"(Still) if you take Thailand as an example, the people seemed to have won several times, but in the end, power was passed on to the new dictators who then again suppressed the people," Thida told The Associated Press.
