Listen to your people, Erdogan tells Mubarak

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should listen to the demands of his people, Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, as mass protests continued in Cairo against Mubarak's rule.

"Listen to people's outcries and extremely humanistic demands," Erdogan said in a televised address to members of the ruling AK Party. "Meet the freedom demands of people without a doubt."

Erdogan, whose country is often held up as a model for democracy in Muslim nations, went on to say the solution to political problems lay in the ballot box. Turkey's diplomatic clout in the Middle East has risen in the past few years, as its past friendship with Israel has dwindled.

The Turkish leader said the Egyptian president should act immediately and prevent "exploiters, groups with dirty aims, (and) those sections that have dark designs over Egypt to take the initiative." He did not elaborate.

He also called for anti-government protesters to refrain from violence and protect the country's cultural heritage.

Castro: American Machiavellianism in Egypt

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro addressed the situation in Egypt as well, accusing the United States of "failing to control the clouds of locust it created in the world".

In an article written for Cuban media, Castro accused the US of "Machiavellianism" in Egypt, saying that while Washington supplied arms to the Egyptian government on one hand, the Agency for International Development (USAID) provided funds to the opposition on the other.

"It's amazing to see that while the blood of many people is being shed on the streets and stores are being looted, Washington expresses its satisfaction with the government's downfall."

As for the popular uprising in Tunisia, the Cuban leader said that "the US was so pleased with the neo-liberal regime it created in Tunisia that it collapsed."

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report

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