Established 1880

Issue No. 42,443 Monday, February 7, 2011 Price: LE2.50

Editor-in-Chief: Ramadan A. Kader Board Chairman: Ali Hashem

NDP is
clinically
dead – say
analysts
Ashraf Madbouli

A
S senior members of the ruling National
Democratic Party (NDP) resigned on
Saturday and some other 'popular' leaders
were appointed by the embattled President Hosni
Mubarak, who rejected to quit the party, analysts
and political parties see the shuffle as nothing but
"a cosmetic measure".
"The National Democratic Party is clinically
dead and no-one in the Egyptian street is con-
cerned with the recent changes in its leadership,"
said Emad Gad, a political analyst with the Al-
Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
Gad's remarks came as the top executive com-
Photo by Emad Kamal
mittee of President Mubarak's NDP, which
Back to normal: Ordinary Egyptians buying thier basic needs, mostly food, from a supermarket in Cairo as banks, shops and service institutions were quite back to normal yesterday after 13-day protests in Al Tahrir Square. includes his son Gamal, resigned en masse, a move
swiftly welcomed by the United States as a "posi-

Normal life begins to return tive step".

Abdel Monem Sayed and papers picked up the theme, devoting extensive cov-
Tamer Mohamed erage to the Egyptian protests, saying the turmoil was
a replay of Iran's 1979 revolution.
Meanwhile, a judicial source said yesterday that
"This is not a real change. Simply, these changes
have taken place on the ground after the 25
January uprising," Gad told The Gazette in an
interview.
"The main demand is that Mubarak himself
should quit the ruling party," Gad said. He added
that this could also bridge the “trust gap” between
the protesters and the President, who is under
heavy pressure to resign from Egypt's top job

L
IFE began to return to the streets of Cairo and
other troubled Egyptian areas yesterday as
banks, bakeries, shops and butane gas distrib-
ution centres opened after nine days and the Army
stepped up its presence around Tahrir Square, where
anti-regime protesters said they would not leave until
President Hosni Mubarak steps down.
Participants in a dialogue between the Egyptian
regime and several opposition groups, including the
Muslim Brotherhood banned since 1954, agreed yes-
terday to create a constitutional reform committee,
according to a governmental official.
Government spokesman Magdi Radi said they had
agreed on "the formation of a committee, which will
include the judiciary and a number of political figures,
to study and propose constitutional amendments and
required legislative amendments... by the first week
of March".
The talks between the Government and the opposi-
tion involve some but not all of the groups, which
have taken part in nearly two weeks of unprecedent-
ed demonstrations calling for President Hosni
Mubarak's ouster.
An opposition participant in the dialogue told AFP
that Suleiman had turned down a demand to assume
the President's powers, during the crisis talks held in
Egypt's Cabinet headquarters.
It was the first time that the Government has
engaged in official dialogue with the Muslim
Brotherhood. (Details on Page 3)
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cautiously
welcomed yesterday Muslim Brotherhood's involve-
ment in political talks in Egypt, saying Washington
would "wait and see" how talks develop.
"Today (Sunday) we learned the Muslim
Brotherhood decided to participate, which suggests
they at least are now involved in the dialogue that we
have encouraged," Clinton told National Public Radio
(NPR) from Germany.
As demonstrators staged the 13th day of protests
against Mubarak, banks began to reopen, and streets
that have been nearly devoid of traffic filled up with
vehicles, causing traffic jams, with policemen who
disappeared for three days from police stations and
streets partly doing their job.
With their return, the so-called popular commit-
Together in Al Tahrir: Egyptian Coptic Christians and Muslims raising a cross and the
Muslim Holy Qur’an, on the 13th day of protests in Tahrir Square in central Cairo calling for an end to
President Hosni Mubarak's regime yesterday.
Panel to amend Constitution created
tees, that have been standing guard in residential
neighbourhoods to protect against looters, had been
noticeably reduced in most Cairo and Giza areas.
Long queues were seen outside banks, in super-
markets, bakeries, Cairo Metro stations and outside
butane gas distribution centres.
Banks operate from l0:00am to 1:30pm until a fur-
ther notice, say officials.
"Enough with staying at home for two weeks. The
main demands were met and work should resume,"
said Munira Abdel Gawwad, a textile worker, who
was buying her basic needs from a shop in downtown
Cairo.
Behind the makeshift barricades surrounding Al
Tahrir Square, protesters voiced determination to stay
put, while the mammoth Mugammaa Building,
which houses the sprawling main official administra-
tion offices, remained shut.
The gate leading to Al Tahrir Square was manned
by a handful of soldiers, while protesters continued
streaming into the plaza.
Muslim protesters held midday prayers, followed
by prayers for the victims of the protests as Copts held
their Sunday prayers.
"We are brothers in Egyptianism. None can put a
the Egyptian Public Funds Prosecution would start in
two days' time interrogating former ministers, includ-
ing former interior minister Habib el-Adly and
Ahmed Ezz, the former secretary of organisational
affairs at the ruling National Democratic Party
(NDP).
Egypt's Chief Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud
had issued a decision banning the former senior offi-
cials from leaving the country and freezing their bank
assets in the aftermath of recent turmoil.
Former MP Moustafa Bakri had filed two reports
against Ezz accusing him of pocketing public money.
Other complaints were also lodged against former
AFP
premiers, Ahmed Nazif and Atef Ebeid, former
finance minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and former
housing minister Mohamed Ibrahim Suleiman.
Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdi, meanwhile,
stressed yesterday the urgent need to continue persis-
tent security efforts to control all forms of lawlessness
and "aborting all attempts to terrify people and ham
their interests" to restore peace and stability over the
wedge between us," said one protester as he held a
coming short period.
cross and a copy of the Muslims' Holy Qur'an.
During a meeting with senior aides at the Ministry,
Protesters also chanted anti-Iran slogans rejecting
Wagdi called for promoting the security services
any interference in Egypt's internal affairs.
offered to the people, putting into effect the new
One leading protester addressed other fellow pro-
police motto, "Police in the Service of the People".
testers in the square, saying: "There are people seek-
Inputs from news agencies
ing to exploit the events in Egypt to achieve their own
Related stories on Pages 2,3,4,5&6
gains. Egyptians will not allow it to happen. Those
Leading article on Page 5
have to turn to the injustice and dictatorships in the
country."
"No religious dictatorship will rule us," he added, Have your say
making fun of what Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's
Supreme Leader, that the events in Egypt "were
in The Gazette
inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran".
Our dear readers are kindly
Protesters from the April 6 Movement said that
invited to express their views on
they wanted "a democratic, and not a religious Middle
the changing scene in Egypt.
East as Khamenei said.
During the Friday noon prayer Khamenei told wor- Opinion poll
shippers the revolt against Mubarak's rule "is fully Mubarak’s latest pledges:
• Should make protesters satisfied.
justified" accusing the Egyptian regime of making the
• Fall short of expectations.
country "do the US's bidding". He added that
To vote, please click:
Mubarak "turned Egypt into the biggest enemy of
www.egyptiangazette.net.eg
Palestine and turned it into the greatest refuge for
or send your responses to fax
Zionists."
2578 46 46
Iran's official television and state-supported news-
immediately.
Hossam Badrawi, reputed to have good relations
with opposition figures, took over as the ruling
party’s secretary-general and political bureau
chief, replacing the incumbent Shura Council
chairman Safwat el-Sherif and Mubarak's 48-year-
old son Gamal, once viewed as his heir apparent.
US President Barack Obama's administration
welcomed the reshuffle.
"We view this as a positive step towards the
political change that will be necessary, and look
forward to additional steps," a Washington official
said late on Saturday.
Moustafa Kamel el-Sayyed, a professor of polit-
ical science at Cairo University, said the shuffle
came under internal and external pressure and
shattered any plans for younger Mubarak to suc-
ceed his father.
"They replaced the hated leaders of the NDP by
a man who is more open. This distances Gamal
from his plans to succeed his father," el-Sayyed
told this newspaper.
He added that although Mubarak remained pres-
ident of both the party and of Egypt, the shuffle
could also weaken the president "who counted on
his son to make a link with the party".
Egyptian Minister of Information Anas el-Fiqi
yesterday denied the president plans to quit the rul-
ing party, quashing as baseless a report by the
Dubai-based official TV.
Safwat el-Sherif, the former NDP secretary-gen-
eral and the current chairman of the Shura Council,
broke his 12-day silence after submitting his resig-
nation. "We have to respect the will of Egyptians
and their demand for change," said el-Sherif in a
phone call with official TV.
Rubbing salt into wounds of the ruling party,
Moustafa el-Fiqi, the incumbent head of the Shura
Council's Foreign Affairs Committee, quit the
party, but urged protesters to give Mubarak a
chance to manage the changes.
"Mubarak should stay until his term ends to lead
some significant amendments and reforms," said
el-Fiqi.
Refaat el-Saeed, the head of the leftist Tagammu
Party, agreed with el-Fiqi, stressing that Mubarak's
preserving his job in the party and the country for
the time being would help reform the whole polit-
ical life in Egypt.

Tahrir protesters publish own paper "Mubarak should lead 'surgeries' in the ruling
party. However, he can quit later," said el-Saeed,
whose party is involved in national dialogue with
Vice-President Omar Suleiman.
Staff report The protesters who have rattled the regime and
sent shockwaves across the international stage

A
NTI-regime protesters, who have been camping out for more have repeatedly demanded an end to the “collu-
than a week now in Al Tahrir Square in central Cairo, have sion” between the State and the NDP.
started publishing a one-page newspaper to express their They are also calling for the dissolution of
views. Parliament and new elections after ballots last
Named Midan Al Tahrir (Al Tahrir Square), the newspaper is pub- November, which saw the NDP gain even more
lished to reflect the stands of the new generation of young protesters, control of a parliament it already dominated. At an
according to its chairman Mohamed Moustafa Sherdi, an ex-member emergency meeting, the legislature said it would
of Parliament and a journalist in the opposition Al-Wafd newspaper. suspend its sessions until courts rule on lawsuits
“The idea of the newspaper was conceived by me and its editor against many members of the Parliament.
Sherif Arafa,” he said. He added that the newspaper was self-financed
and depended on computers available at Al-Wafd newspaper.
“We are interested in turning Midan Al Tahrir into a licensed publi- Weather
cation to mark the birth of a new type of community journalism in
Cairo ........ 21 ... . 12
Egypt,” he added. The newspaper is photocopied and circulates thou-
‘What do they say about us?’: Egyptians in Al Tahrir Square hav- Alexandria ....... 19 ... . 11
sands among the picketing protesters.
ing a look at newspapers covering their protests. Suez ........ 22 ... . 11
Meanwhile, organisers of anti-regime protesters in Al Tahrir Square
“We believe that the press is a major power because we no longer Matruh ........ 18 ... . 09
have set up a makeshift centre next to the Egyptian Museum in the
same square to allow demonstrators to leave through local newspa- recognises the power of the President,” said one protester. “We are Aswan ........ 31 ... . 15
pers. Delivery of publications across Egypt has been disrupted by glad that many publications have changed their editorial policy to Sharm El-Sheikh ........ 25 ... . 17
recent turmoil. reflect the new realities in Egypt.” Hurghada ........ 23 ... . 15