Egypt Veep Agrees to Some Concessions

Posted on Feb 6, 2011

AP / Soliman Oteifi

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, center, meets with representatives of opposition groups and others in Cairo on Sunday.

As protests in Egypt continued to rage, just-installed Vice President Omar Suleiman has come to an agreement with some opposition groups to liberalize the media, release political prisoners and undergo a transition of power “within a constitutional framework.”

However, there was no mention of a key demand of the opposition—that President Hosni Mubarak immediately step down. —JCL

Below is a letter from Suleiman ‘s office reprinted by The Guardian.

The Guardian:

The Vice-President held a series of meetings with representatives of the full spectrum of political parties and forces, as a well as a number of youths from the 25 January movement. The meetings arrived at the following consensus:

All participants of the dialogue arrived at a consensus to express their appreciation and respect for the 25 January movement and on the need to deal seriously, expeditiously and honestly with the current crisis that the nation is facing, the legitimate demands of the youth of 25 January and society’s political forces, with full consideration and a commitment to constitutional legitimacy in confronting the challenges and dangers faced by Egypt as result of this crisis, including: The lack of security for the populace; disturbances to daily life; The paralysis of ... public services; The suspension of education at universities and schools; The logistical delays in the delivery of essential goods to the population; The damages to and losses of the Egyptian economy; The attempts at foreign intervention into purely Egyptian affairs and breaches of security by foreign elements working to undermine stability in implementation of their plots, while recognizing that the 25 January movement is a honorable and patriotic movement.

The participants in the national dialogue agreed on a number of political arrangements, and constitutional and legislative measures, which the participants agreed by consensus would be of a temporary nature until the election of new president at the end of the current presidential term ... .

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