BICOM

Unrest in Egypt continued over the weekend, but efforts to force political reform seem to be moving to the negotiations stage. Although President Hosni Mubarak remains in power, the Egyptian government opened talks with opposition groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, a veteran Islamist group which is widely considered to constitute the most organised opposition force in Egypt. Opposition groups continue to demand Mubarak’s resignation, but it currently looks like the aim of the government is to begin a process of consultations and political reform, with Mubarak remaining in office. Mubarak has in any case pledged to step down in September, when presidential elections are due to take place.

Vice President Omar Suleiman, meanwhile, is now the key power-broker in Egypt, and is managing the process of negotiations with the opposition and political reform. Suleiman is trusted in Egypt and internationally, and his support for gradual transition also moderated international demands for an immediate resignation of Mubarak. US President Barack Obama said on Sunday that he was confident that an orderly political transition would take place in Egypt. Obama added that the Muslim Brotherhood lacked majority support in Egypt, and stressed that Egypt should not be made to choose between suppression of liberties or Muslim Brotherhood rule.

In an additional development, an explosion at a gas terminal in northern Sinai, bringing natural gas from Egypt to Israel, on Saturday set off a massive fire which was contained by temporarily shutting off the flow of gas. Egyptian officials later said that the explosion was caused by a gas leak. An estimated 300 people have now been killed in the battle to force Mubarak’s resignation. There are signs that popular unrest is beginning to falter, and that Banks and businesses opened in Egypt on Sunday for the first time in a week. The Egyptian Cabinet on Monday held its first full Cabinet meeting since Mubarak made personnel changes in the government on 28 January.