UN chief shrugs off ugly Qadhafi protest in Cairo

CAIRO: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday shrugged off an ugly protest that saw him chased off Cairo's Tahrir Square by Moamer Qadhafi followers as he tried to get a taste of Egypt's democratic revolution. Straight out of talks with the Arab League chief on maintaining unity in the Libya war, Ban walked into about 50 Qadhafi followers who brandished portraits of the Libyan strongman in his face and chanted "Down, down USA." As the crowd, which had climbed over cars, threatened to surround the UN leader, security guards bundled him towards the back entrance of the Arab League headquarters. The 64-year-old South Korean was unhurt but unnerved by the ugly incident. Once over that fright, Ban suffered more abuse and fist-waving minutes later as he arrived at the prime minister's office. More than 1,000 people were gathered for one of the near-daily demonstrations there since Egypt's revolution, demanding jobs and homes. And as he left that meeting, his UN convoy was confronted by another 200 people marching down the street demanding government action. Ban later said protests showed a democratic and free society, and had to be accepted, be they targeted against the government or the United Nations.

"Such expression should not be violent or threatening but it should be a recognised principle," he told reporters. Ban had wanted to go to Tahrir Square "to get a first-hand flavour of the scene of the Egyptian revolution," said UN spokesman Farhan Haq. The square was the scene of the now legendary protests that led to the overthrow of strongman Hosni Mubarak in February. But the protesters had been waiting for him as his cavalcade arrived at the gates to the Arab League, right next to the square. The angry crowd surged again as Ban, and several top officials including Michelle Bachelet, the former Chilean president who now heads the UN Women agency, stepped out into the steamy heat of the square. Ban started the day in a meeting with Egyptian political, women's and religious groups who asked for help "strengthening Egypt's democratic standards," Haq said. In talks with Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, Ban made a similar offer to use UN expertise to benefit the political process. Ban also went to visit Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that took over from Mubarak, to urge the organisation of elections as soon as possible.