Global General

Egypt's Brotherhood begins dialogue with govt

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-06 19:40

Demonstrations go on

The 12th day of the nationwide anti-government demonstration seemed to be relatively quiet, with thousands of protestors still sitting in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo.

The Egyptian government underscored the people's desire for stability, asking protestors to go home and emphasizing the threats posed by the protests to the country's economy.

Mubarak on Saturday held a ministerial meeting in his presidential palace, a move to show he is still leading the government amid ongoing pressure for his resignation.

The meeting was attended by his economic team, including the prime minister, central bank governor, ministers of petroleum, social solidarity, trade and industry and finance.

The government will focus in the coming stage on boosting the internal front, restoring stability and providing the basic needs of the citizens in order to go through this stage peacefully, Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said, stressing his belief that the crisis will be over soon.

However the head of the Egyptian stock exchange market said it will not reopen on Monday as planned but a new date to resume trading will be decided 48 hours before its opening.

Egypt's economy is already suffering. Exports fell 6 percent in January because of the mass protests and curfew, Trade Minister Samiha Fawzi Ibrahim said.

Nearly two weeks of unrest already scared off most of the tourists to the country, a famed tourist destination. Many shops have been closed and banks shut, making it hard for Egyptians to stock up on basic goods.

A natural gas pipeline exploded on early Saturday in El Arish in Egypt's North Sinai and consequently disrupted flows to Israel and Jordan.

The supply would resume as early as possible, North Sinai governor Abdel Wahab Mabrouk told Xinhua, adding that it could be a sabotage effort.

Earlier on Saturday, Egyptian army commander Hassan al-Roweny went to the Tahrir, or Liberation, Square, in downtown Cairo to persuade thousands of protestors to stop the demonstration and keep the society from going more chaotic.

The senior officer said in a loud speaker that the crowd should go home and the army guaranteed the safety of protestors, a Xinhua reporter said.

But many protestors on the square, some of whom were bruised during clashes with pro-government protesters, some sleep-deprived after spending nights and days on end there, still insist on Mubaruk's immediate departure.

Eye witnesses said that on Saturday night, the Egyptian army in Cairo square prepared to clear the area of the protestors to make space for traffic of working day on Sunday in an attempt to bring back the economic life to Egypt after it was stalled due to massive protests.

On Saturday, some cafeteria on the Zamalek island in Cairo, an affluent residential district of the city, resumed business, and attracted customers desperate to take a break from days of unrest.

For now, the wave of protests is there to stay, but it is hard to know whether it would ebb or rise as the new week starts on Sunday.