EGYPT: Government trumpets talks on reform, most opposition groups boycott

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Shaken by 10 days of protests and unrest, Egypt’s embattled leadership hailed the start of a dialogue with the nation’s political forces on Thursday, but most opposition groups refused to take part.

In a move designed to blunt criticism of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, state-run Nile TV said talks had begun between the ruling National Democratic Party leaders and “the opposition,” although the network didn’t say which forces were participating.

Leaders of the most influential groups challenging Mubarak’s 30-year rule have refused to take part until he resigns and the government offers assurances that force won’t be used against peaceful protesters demanding democratic change. Among the groups holding out are the National Assn. for Change galvanizing around Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei; the Muslim Brotherhood that is Egypt’s largest and best-organized opposition force; the Wafd Party; the pan-Arab Naseri group; and the al-Wasat faction.

“We refuse to sit with him,” Muslim Brotherhood activist Essam El-Erian told journalists in Cairo, referring to Vice President Omar Suleiman, who announced the negotiations aimed at reform after his appointment on Saturday.

Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, among the government figures meeting with other political leaders, said the dialogue was open to everyone and that there were no preconditions for inclusion.

State television said the liberal al-Ahrar opposition party leader Helmi Salem was meeting with Mubarak’s top lieutenants, and that “many other opposition groups” were also working with the government on constitutional and political reforms.

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