Mubarak Creates Committees to Suggest Reforms

He also orders investigation into clashes
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 8, 2011 10:07 AM CST
Mubarak Creates Committees to Suggest Reforms
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak looks on during his meeting with Emirates foreign minister, not pictured, at the Presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 8, 2011.   (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Hosni Mubarak took another stab at appeasing protesters today, setting up one committee to recommend the kind of constitutional amendments pro-Democracy advocates are clamoring for, and another to monitor the implementation of such reforms, the AP reports. He also promised an investigation into last week’s violent clashes between his supporters and the protesters.

Vice President Omar Suleiman announced the promises in a televised address. “The youth of Egypt deserve national appreciation,” he quoted Mubarak as saying. “They should not be detained, harassed, or denied their freedom of expression.” The Obama administration, meanwhile, backed Mubarak’s bid to stay in office until reforms could be implemented, with a State Department spokesman saying there was “a lot of work that has to be done” before the country’s “prepared to have a competitive, open election.” (More Hosni Mubarak stories.)

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