WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Senator John Kerry on Friday urged President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to quiet violent unrest there by promising that September elections will reflect "a free and open democratic process."
"In the final analysis, it is not with rubber bullets and water cannons that order will be restored," said Kerry, a Democratic White House ally who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"President Mubarak has the opportunity to quell the unrest by guaranteeing that a free and open democratic process will be in place when the time comes to choose the country's next leader later this year," he said in a statement.
At least eight people have died in four straight days of protests in Egypt, a major beneficiary of US aid.
Kerry's comments came as Egypt state television showed images of a blaze, apparently set by protesters, consuming the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party in Cairo.
