Canada to evacuate citizens from Egypt

Ottawa - The Government of Canada will begin trying to evacuate some 6,000 of its citizens on Monday by Egyptian charter flights to Europe.

"The situation in Egypt is very difficult to predict and demonstrations have turned violent," Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in Ottawa. "The government has evacuation plans in place for Canadians who want to leave. Our government makes arrangements to provide transportation to places in Europe"

The minister said some flights to Europe will begin on Monday.

Canadians will be required to pay for these charter flights, and will be responsible for their own travel further away from Europe.

"We urge the Egyptian government to speed up democratic reforms and economic reforms to meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people," said Cannon. "We deeply regret the continuing loss of life during the crisis. We urge all parties to refrain from violence and the Egyptian authorities to respond to peaceful protest, "

But the Canadian government with its allies, has been criticized for failing to urge President Hosni Mubarak to resign.

Cannon defended the government's position, saying that an internal Egyptian matter, and that his government has long been involved in Egypt and other countries in the region to bring about reform.

"This is an internal matter, that the Egyptians themselves have a duty to make these decisions, in much the same way that we do not tolerate or accept a foreign state tells us how we deal with issues covered here in Canada." he said.