The BBC's Jim Muir: "Protesters blocked the army from advancing into Tahrir Square and spent the night sleeping under the tracks of tanks"
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Egypt opposition wary after talks
Egypt's opposition groups - including the banned Muslim Brotherhood - have responded warily to the government's offer to set up a committee on constitutional reform.
The opposition met Vice-President Omar Suleiman after 13 days of protests calling on President Mubarak to resign.
Opposition groups have told the BBC they are sceptical of the government's good faith.
It was the first time the government and the Brotherhood have held talks.
Opposition groups want President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately. He says to do so would cause chaos and has said instead that he will not stand for re-election in September.
The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Cairo, says the opposition members and the so-called "wise men" who were there told him they were sceptical of the government's good faith and so were demanding a series of confidence-building measures.
Those included an immediate end to the state of emergency which has been in force for 29 years and an end to what the opposition describes as incitement to intimidation on state media.
Meanwhile, many banks opened for the first time in a week, with long queues of people forming to withdraw money.
Huge crowds have been on the streets of Cairo and other cities in the past two weeks calling for democratic reforms, and tens of thousands again flocked to the capital's Tahrir Square on Sunday.
Mr Suleiman was hosting the talks on Sunday along with a number of other opposition parties, including Wafd and Tagammu.
Our correspondent says there was a wide array of opposition voices at the talks, along with a number of other "wise men", including top business figure Naguib Sawiris.
Key opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei was not at the talks.
State TV said the participants had agreed to form a joint committee of judicial and political figures tasked with suggesting constitutional amendments.
The participants also rejected foreign interference in Egypt's affairs and said they would work towards the peaceful transition of power, the reports said.
Mr Suleiman had invited the groups last week, telling the Muslim Brotherhood it was a "valuable opportunity".
A member of the Brotherhood's leadership, Essam el-Erian, told the BBC that Mr Mubarak's grip on power was weakening.
"We are sitting with the vice-president to see what is the agenda to take the country to stability, to security, to democracy," Mr El-Erian said
"This is the aim and this is the demand of the people. Continuing demonstrations can make pressure to put a timetable which can be short enough."
The Brotherhood had previously said it would not take part in the negotiations.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she supported the Muslim Brotherhood's attendance but would "wait and see" how the dialogue developed.
The Islamist group is Egypt's most influential and well-organised opposition but it remains officially banned and its members and leaders have been subject to frequent repression.
Mr Mubarak has blamed it for the unrest and said that if he leaves, the group will exploit the ensuing political chaos.
The Muslim Brotherhood denies accusations that it is seeking to create an Islamist state in Egypt.
Our correspondent, Jon Leyne, says the Brotherhood is undoubtedly a force in Egypt but it is itself divided and unclear in its intentions.
Hundreds of bank branches across the country and in Cairo opened at 1000 local time (0800 GMT).
Long queues formed at some for the brief opening period - the banks closed again at 1330 local time.
Protesters are remaining in Tahrir Square day and night The central bank has released some of its $36bn in official foreign reserves to cover withdrawals, amid fears Egyptians would be panicked into taking out their savings.
Deputy central bank governor Hisham Ramez has said he is confident all transactions will be honoured.
The government is seeking to revive an economy said to be losing at least $310m (£192m) a day.
Many shops, factories and the stock exchange have been closed for days, and basic goods have been running short.
Correspondents say many Egyptians have been wondering how quickly daily life will return to normal regardless of the outcome of the struggle for power.
But they also say there is no let-up in the magnitude of the protests in Tahrir Square, and the mood is almost back to the festival atmosphere of the first few days, with many families and young children in attendance.
The US - a key ally of the Mubarak government - has called for a swift transition of power, although it has not explicitly told Mr Mubarak to leave.
It has also encouraged all parties to fully engage in talks.
But there was confusion on Saturday after US special envoy Frank Wisner, who was sent by President Barack Obama to Cairo apparently to urge Mr Mubarak to announce his departure, said he thought Mr Mubarak "must stay in office" to oversee the transition, saying his "continued leadership is critical".
The US state department later distanced itself from the comments, saying they were Mr Wisner's own and were not co-ordinated with the US government.
The leadership of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) resigned en masse on Friday, apparently in response to the protests.
Two of Mr Mubarak's allies, including his son Gamal, lost their posts while Hossam Badrawi was appointed secretary general.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12377179
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