Friday, February 4, 2011

Egypt and U.S. discuss plan for immediate resignation of Mubarak

The Egyptian officials discussed a proposal to President Hosni Mubarak, resign immediately and hand over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman. So says on its website to The New York Times that argues that the transitional government would have the backing of the Egyptian Army.

Mubarak has so far rejected requests for immediate departure from power. Still, the Times said, citing U.S. government sources and unidentified Arab diplomatic sources, said that Washington and Cairo are in talks for a plan that Suleiman would take over the country. The vice president would have the backing of the armed forces chief, Sami Enan and Defense Minister Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi and immediately begin a process of constitutional reform.

The proposal also calls for the transitional government to invite members from a wide range of opposition groups including the Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition force in Egypt. The aim would be to open the country's electoral system, the effort to convene free and fair elections in September.

Senior U.S. officials told the Times that the proposal is one of several options with senior Egyptian officials close to Mubarak, but not to him directly, in an effort to convince him to go. Officials warned that the outcome depends on several factors, including the evolution of the demonstrations in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities and the dynamics of power within the government.

Some of the sources consulted by the newspaper insisted that there is no evidence that any Suleiman nor the Armed Forces were ready to leave Mubarak. Protests are expected to intensify tomorrow, a day dubbed by opponents of the Mubarak regime as "the day of departure."

No comments:

Post a Comment