Top leadership of Egypt's ruling party resigns

CAIRO,Feb 5, 2011 (Reuters): The leadership of Egypt's ruling party quit on Saturday after protests that have rocked the political establishment, but protesters dismissed the move as a ruse that would not deter them from their goal of toppling the president.

Hosni Mubarak, who has reshuffled his government but pledged to stay on until elections in September, resigned as head of the ruling party, Al Arabiya television said in a report that could not be confirmed.

State television said only that the leadership of the party, including Mubarak's son Gamal, had resigned and named the new secretary general as Hossam Badrawi, seen as a reformist member of the liberal wing.

But the protesters were not impressed by the latest gesture.

"These are not gains for the protesters, this is a trick by the regime. This is not fulfilling our demands. These are red herrings," said Bilal Fathi, 22.

Earlier Mubarak met some of the new ministers, the state news agency said, in a clear rebuff to the hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters who rallied at Tahrir Square in central Cairo for a 12th day.

"The status quo is simply not sustainable," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a security conference in Munich, referring to the situation in Egypt but also the wider Middle East.

Saboteurs blew up a gas pipeline in northern Egypt overnight, disrupting flows to Israel and also to Jordan, where protesters angered by economic hardship have been demanding a more democratic political system.

NEGOTIATIONS

Vice President Omar Suleiman began meeting prominent independent and mainstream opposition figures, state television said, to try to work out how to ensure free and fair future presidential elections while sticking to the constitution.

But with some of the protesters insisting they wanted not just Mubarak but also his allies out straight away, it was unclear even that would be enough to end the crisis.
Top leadership of Egypt's ruling party resigns

An Egyptian army commander was shouted down when he tried to persuade thousands of demonstrators at Tahrir Square to stop a protest that has stalled economic life in the capital.

"You all have the right to express yourselves but please save what is left of Egypt. Look around you," Hassan al-Roweny said through a loud speaker and standing on a podium.

The crowd responded with shouts that Mubarak should resign, at which Roweny left, saying: "I will not speak amid such chants."

Western governments have expressed support for the protesters but were cautious about expecting too much too fast.