Turkey's PM urges Mubarak to listen to Egyptians

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should heed his people's desire for change, Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erodogan said on Tuesday, piling pressure on Mubarak to end his 30-year rule in the face of mass protests.

As more than 200,000 protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square demanding Mubarak quit, Erdogan said the Egyptian ruler should ponder his legacy.

"Mr. Hosni Mubarak: I want to make a very sincere recommendation, a very candid warning... All of us will die and will be questioned over what we left behind," Erdogan said in a televised address to members of the ruling AK Party. "As Muslims, where we all go is a two cubic metre hole," he said.

"Listen to the shouting of the people, the extremely humane demands. Without hesitation, satisfy the people's desire for change," Erdogan said.

Erdogan, whose country has been watching the unrest rocking the Middle East with concern, went on to say the solution to political problems lay in elections. The United States and other Western powers have urged Mubarak to hold free elections.

"If there is a problem, the place for solution is the ballot box," Erdogan said.

Saying his own Justice and Development Party, known as the AK Party, sympathised with the downtrodden, Erdogan expressed solidarity with the Tunisians and Egyptians as their country passed through political turmoil.

"Turkey is side by side with the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt at this critical time," Erdogan said.

His government projects itself as a force for stability in a volatile region, and as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East.


/World Bulletin/