Ban calls for ‘orderly and peaceful’ transition in Egypt

BERLIN - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Friday called for an “orderly and peaceful” transition of power in Egypt and said the UN had warned the Arab world for years about its democratic deficit.

“Any transition should be orderly and peaceful without creating any confusion,” Ban said in an interview with DPA in Berlin. The UN chief did not mention a timeframe.

Ban is in Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference. He is due to meet Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle before travelling to Munich.

Mubarak — under immense pressure after 11 days of unrest in Cairo — has indicated he will step down at September’s presidential election, something rejected by the vast majority of protesters.

The unrest was the “expression of such kind of frustrations from the lack of freedom”, Ban said, warning that “peace and stability in Egypt has much bigger implications, not only for Egypt but for the rest of the region and the (Middle East) peace process”.

At the same time, Ban said Egypt had been a “strategic partner for the UN and for most of the western world in keeping democracy and the values of human rights”.

Since 2002, the UN’s human development report had made recommendations to all Arab countries, “to make their countries more democratic and accountable and listen to the wishes of the people”, Ban added.