Opposition calls more protests in campaign to unseat Mubarak

CAIRO - Egypt has a plan and timetable for the peaceful transfer of power, the vice-president said on Tuesday, as protesters called more demonstrations hoping to show their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak remains potent.

With signs growing the government may be gaining the upper hand in the struggle for power, Vice-President Omar Suleiman also promised no reprisals against the protesters for their two-week campaign to eject Mubarak after 30 years in office.

"A clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realize the peaceful and organized transfer of power," said Suleiman, Mubarak's long-time intelligence chief who has led talks with opposition groups including the Muslim Brotherhood - Mubarak's sworn enemy.

So far the government has conceded little ground in the talks.

Negotiations that brought together the government and opposition factions took place this week under the gaze of a giant portrait of Mubarak.

"The president welcomed the national consensus, confirming that we are putting our feet on the right path to getting out of the current crisis," Suleiman said in comments broadcast on television, after briefing Mubarak on the talks.

Hundreds of thousands have joined previous demonstrations and the United Nations says 300 people may have died so far. But many in a country where about 40 percent of people live on less than $2 a day are desperate to return to work and normal life, even some of those wanting to oust Mubarak.

Some normality is returning to Cairo. Traffic was bumper to bumper in the city center on Tuesday and queues quickly built up at banks, which are still open only for restricted hours.

While opposition groups talk to Suleiman, mainly younger protesters called for a push to remove Mubarak as the authorities tried to squeeze them out of central Cairo.

Suleiman promised that the harassment of protesters would end. "The president emphasized that Egypt's youth deserve the appreciation of the nation and issued a directive to prevent them being pursued, harassed or having their right to freedom of expression taken away," he said.

Tuesday's demonstrations will test the protesters' ability to maintain pressure on the government. Those camped out in tents on Tahrir Square have vowed to stay until Mubarak quits, and plan more mass demonstrations on Tuesday and Friday.

Egyptian opposition figures have reported little progress in talks with the government.

The Muslim Brotherhood, by far the best organized opposition group, said on Monday it could quit the process if protesters' demands were not met, including the immediate exit of Mubarak.

Reuters

(China Daily 02/09/2011 page12)