NEW YORK: The New York Times urged Washington Thursday to try to persuade Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to hold talks with opposition groups leading the country’s biggest protests in three decades.
"The administration needs to persuade him to accept the legitimacy and urgency behind the protests and begin talking to opposition groups," the daily wrote, calling the protests a delicate moment for Egypt-US relations.
"Egypt needs change. A peaceful transition would be best for everyone."
The Times praised Obama for moving past a democracy agenda embraced by his predecessor president George W. Bush that it said was "built around military intervention and empty rhetoric."
The daily also said it felt sympathy with the thousands who have swarmed the street of Cairo demanding change.
"We sympathize with the frustration and anger that is drawing tens of thousands of Egyptians into the streets of Cairo and other cities this week, the country’s largest demonstrations in years," The Times said.
After huge demonstrations, Egypt outlawed public gatherings on Wednesday, but a large number of protesters defied the order and called for Mubarak’s overthrow.
"As authoritarian governments often do, the one in Cairo is deluding itself about the causes for the unrest," the daily wrote.
The paper cited various causes for the unrest including "government projects that were supposed to benefit the poor but which end up enriching the elite."
Egyptian police arrested at least 1,000 people in two days of running street battles, an official said Thursday, as activists vowed to step up protests in the country’s biggest uprising in 30 years.
Six people have died in the protests against the rule of Mubarak, which, inspired by the groundbreaking "Jasmine Revolution" in Tunisia, have sent shockwaves across the region and prompted Washington to prod its long-time ally on democratic reforms.
