 Some pro-reform demonstrations sweeping Egypt could hurt the country's interests, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview published yesterday. Mubarak also said he would announce later whether he would seek a fifth six-year term this autumn. "There is unemployment. Battling unemployment requires investment. With these demonstrations that we're seeing, the investor will flee, meaning unemployment will spread," Mubarak said in the interview with the Kuwaiti Al-Siyassah newspaper, a transcript of which was published by Egypt's semiofficial Middle East News Agency. "It's obvious that the unjustified demonstrations have no program. They are staged just to create a state of unrest that drives out the foreign investor," he said. "There are those who want to hurt our economy, but they won't succeed. Mubarak accused some protesters of attacking and provoking police. Opposition leaders and pro-reform activists have staged protests in various Egyptian provinces to demand democratic changes and some have called for an end to Mubarak's rule. |