Anti-Mubarak Demonstrations before Egyptian Embassy in Damascus Continue

Syrian and Palestinian demonstrations against Egypt and President Mubarak continued before the Egyptian Embassy in Syria to criticize the Egyptian stance on the situation in Gaza. Protesters chanted slogans against Egyptian political leaders and accused them of being an agent of the West.
 
According to DPA news agency, the demonstrators tried to deliver a letter to the Egyptian ambassador, but no one came out of the embassy to receive it. Therefore, the demonstrators put the letter on the door of the embassy, while some diplomats monitored the situation from the embassy balcony.
 
The protestors called on the president to work to end the siege on Gaza and open border crossings to urgent aid.
 
DPA said it noticed a limited number of Syrian policemen and some security elements to prevent riots.
 
For his part, the Spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hossam Zaki, refused to comment on the demonstrations so that the situation would not escalate, as he put it.
A well-informed Egyptian source told the daily that this last Syrian incident has begun to raise real question marks over Syria's credibility to maintain its ties with Egypt.
 
"We see the Syrian demonstrations before the Egyptian embassy in Damascus as a new Syrian escalation against Egypt."
 
Egypt's stances are clear on Palestinian affairs and, in particular, on the situation in the Gaza Strip, the source said, pointing out that Egypt's position is solid and Cairo does not accept any speculation on its stances.
 
There is a clear link between demonstrations staged by Iranian students against Egypt a few days ago and current demonstrations in the Syrian capital before the Egyptian embassy, as there are intimate relations between Syria, Iran and Hamas, former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Sayed Qassem said.
He expected that last week's anti-Egypt demonstrations in Tehran were not motivated by the Iranian government, as the Iranian government is keen to restore relations with Cairo.
 
"The matter is totally different when it comes to the demonstrations in Damascus, which could not be staged without permission from the Syrian authorities unless they were the ones planning them" he added.