(Financial Times-UK) William Wallis and Guy Dinmore - Despite persistent prompting, Mubarak has shown little inclination to lead the Middle East on democratic reform. However, Abdel Monem Said, chairman of the state-owned Al Ahram Center for Strategic and Political Studies, argues that while recent incidents may be a step backwards, they result from tensions that have also thrown up more promising developments. This month, the ruling National Democratic party agreed after a "national dialogue" with officially sanctioned opposition groups that Egypt's constitution needed to be reviewed. Yet Hisham Kassem, vice-president for international relations of the Tomorrow party, said the arrest of the party's leader, Ayman Nour, has reinforced the sense among pro-democracy campaigners that nothing fundamental in Egypt would change until the 76-year-old Mubarak passed on.
2005-02-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive