Following are excerpts from an interview with London-based Egyptian Islamist Yasser Al-Sirri, which aired on Al-Hiwar TV on February 2, 2011:
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/0/0/0/0/0/0/2790.
"The Three Cities of the Suez Canal... Must Block the Suez Canal to the Passage Of Foreign Cargo Ships"
Yasser Al-Sirri: "The U.S. administration... I am talking about the U.S. administration because Britain is merely subordinate to the U.S. administration. It is well known that Britain is subordinate to the U.S. The speeches made by Barack Obama are merely public statements. We want actions, not words. The U.S. and the other Western countries do not act unless their interests are harmed. They do not care if a police station is burnt down, or if 1,000 Egyptians are killed, fighting one another.
"Therefore, I direct my call to my mother and brothers, before anyone else. The three cities of the Suez Canal – Suez, Ismailia, and Port Said – must block the Suez Canal to the passage of foreign cargo ships, so that the world understands the extent of the damage we have suffered."
Interviewer: "To what extent is that possible?"
Yasser Al-Sirri: "It is very simple and easy. Along the Suez Canal you have Port Tawfiq, Gireifa, Deversoir, Abu Sultan, Fayid, Number 6 area, Qantara, and Port Fuad. If thousands, or even just hundreds, of people in each area would demonstrate, it would prevent..."
Interviewer: "They should put things in the water, or what?"
Yasser Al-Sirri: "They should just stand there, because the canal is not that wide, and out of fear that they might be targeted, the Westerners themselves..."
Interviewer: "So it's enough to stand on the canal's banks?"
Yasser Al-Sirri: "Yes. You can go with small boats to the middle of the canal. You can go from the southern entrance in Suez or the northern one in Port Said. If 1,000 people were to stand at the very entrance, that would be the end of it."
Interviewer: "That would be an important catalyst..."
"If You Corner a Cat... [It] Will Kill You – But If You Leave a Window Open For It, It Will Run Away; The Cat Hosni Mubarak Must Leave Quickly"
Yasser Al-Sirri: "Then the U.S. and the West would understand the message of the Egyptian people, and they would say to Mubarak: Have mercy on us. They are such idiots. They sacrifice an entire people for the sake of one man, and then the U.S. dares to ask: Why do the peoples hate us? They hate you because you support the tyrants. That's the problem.
[...]
"Let me say it again so that the people in Suez, Ismailia, and Port Said understand. It is very important to block international shipping through the Suez Canal. It will help the Egyptian people conclude this Intifada with victory, because the U.S. and the West care only about their interests. They don't care about democracy, liberties, or the Egyptian people. They care only about their interests.
"If you stop the oil... The SuMed Pipeline conveys oil from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. You don't need to destroy it, just to close the taps, the oil will stop flowing to these people, who will, under pressure, stop supporting Mubarak. What the U.S. administration says in Public is one thing, and what it does under the table is another thing.
[...]
"If you corner a cat from all sides, it will become ferocious and will kill you. But if you leave a window open for it, it will run away. The cat Hosni Mubarak must leave quickly. If he stays in Egypt, he will face trial, and if the trial is just, he will be hanged." [...]
