[Peace-discuss] U.S. journalists call Cairo violence "government-sanctioned, " journalists say "pro-govt mob" hunting journalists

[Robert Naiman]

Guardian liveblog:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/feb/02/egypt-protests-live-updates

New York Times liveblog:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/latest-updates-on-day-9-of-egypt-protests/

Ben Wedeman of CNN: "All indications are that what is happening in
Tahrir Square is government-sanctioned."

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times: "In my area of Tahrir, the
thugs were armed with machetes, straight razors, clubs and stones. And
they all had the same chants, the same slogans and the same hostility
to journalists. They clearly had been organized and briefed. So the
idea that this is some spontaneous outpouring of pro-Mubarak
supporters, both in Cairo and in Alexandria, who happen to end up
clashing with other side — that is preposterous. It's difficult to
know what is happening, and I'm only one observer, but to me these
seem to be organized thugs sent in to crack heads, chase out
journalists, intimidate the pro-democracy forces and perhaps create a
pretext for an even harsher crackdown."

Full Kristof:
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/the-view-from-tahrir/

As we reported in our 8:32 a.m. update, journalists, including
Anderson Cooper of CNN, have been attacked by Mubarak regime
supporters on Wednesday.
[...]
"Protesters are hunting down Al Jazeera journos," wrote Abbas Al
Lawati of Gulf News in Dubai. "I keep having to clarify that I'm not
one of them."
[...]
Two reporters for The New York Times, David Kirkpatrick and Mona
el-Naggar, said they had been cornered by pro-Mubarak demonstrators
who tried to prevent them from reporting just as clashes began.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/latest-updates-on-day-9-of-egypt-protests/

-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org