Egypt's vice president met with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups for the first time Sunday and offered sweeping concessions, including granting press freedom and rolling back police powers in the government's latest attempt to try to end nearly two weeks of upheaval.
But the opposition leaders held firm to a demand the government rejects: that President Hosni Mubarak step down immediately. And the source of the opposition's sudden power — the youthful protesters filling Cairo's main square — said they weren't even represented at the talks and won't negotiate until Mubarak is gone.
"None of those who attended represent us," said Khaled Abdul-Hamid, one leader of a new coalition representing at least five youth movements that organized the 13-day-old protests. "We are determined to press on until our number one demand is met" — the ouster of Mubarak.
"The regime is retreating," Abdul-Hamid told The Associated Press. "It is making more concessions every day."
At the same time, there were signs that the paralysis gripping the country since the crisis began was easing Sunday, the first day of Egypt's work week. Some schools reopened for the first time in more than a week, and so did banks — though for only three hours, with long lines outside. A night curfew remains, and tanks continue to ring the city's central square and guard government buildings, embassies and other important institutions.
Since protests began Jan. 25, the 82-year-old Mubarak has pledged not to seek another term in elections to be held in September. The government promised that his son Gamal, who had widely been expected to succeed him, will not do so. Mubarak appointed a vice president — Omar Suleiman — for the first time since he took office three decades ago. He sacked his Cabinet, named a new one and promised reforms. And on Saturday, the top leaders of the ruling party, including Gamal Mubarak, were purged.
Sunday brought another concession that would have been unimaginable just a month ago in this tightly controlled country: Suleiman's meeting with opposition groups including the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed since 1954 but is the ruling party's largest rival.
Egypt's opposition — essentially banned by the government for decades — has long been hampered by a lack of cohesiveness. Sunday's talks could be a sign the government is trying to divide and conquer as it tries to placate protesters without giving in to their chief demand.
Mubarak is insisting he cannot stand down now or it would only deepen the chaos in his country. The protesters, skeptical of a regime they blame for repression, corruption and widespread poverty, vow to maintain their pressure until Mubarak leaves.
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