By Tamim Elyan
CAIRO: Opposition Coalition for Change revoked Wednesday their acceptance to hold dialogue with Vice President Omar Sulieman after pro-Mubarak groups attacked pro-change protesters in Tahrir.
The coalition is comprised of main opposition parties and movements, including Al-Wafd, Al-Ghad, Al-Tagmmu’ and the National Association of Change. They held President Hosni Mubarak and the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) responsible of any violence between protestors citing “traditional NDP tactics” as the reason behind these clashes.
Earlier on the day, the coalition accepted an invitation by Sulieman to initiate dialogue with the opposition citing Mubarak’s pledge that he won’t run for a sixth term and promise to carry on constitutional reforms.
“We found that it is better to start a dialogue based on the current constitution rather than negotiating amidst a constitutional vacuum,” said a statement by the coalition.
However, the coalition conditioned their approval of starting dialogue on the safety of protestors in Tahrir Sqaure. They said they would revoke their approval if the condition was violated or if there were attempts to turn around the president’s promises.
The coalition also listed a number of demands for the dialogue to begin including the amendment of articles 76, 77, 88 and 93 of the constitution; adding an article that allows the president to call for a founding committee to write a new constitution; and separating between the authorities of the president and his partisan post at the NDP during this time.
The demands also include dissolving the People Assembly and the Shoura Council after approving constitutional amendments and immediately starting investigations in corruption cases and bringing those responsible of the absence of security in the streets to justice.
