Talks begin with V. P. Omar Suleiman and Opposition Groups

The democratic pro-activist Mubarek opposition groups organized talks today with Vice President Omar Suleiman to discuss the transitions upcoming for Egyptian voters and changes to the general human rights laws for Egyptian citizens. Egypt's V. P. Suleiman met a broad representation of major opposition groups for the first time Sunday and offered new concessions including freedom of the press. "People still want the president to step down," said Mostafa al-Naggar, a protest organizer and supporter of Mohamed El Baradei, a Nobel Peace laureate and one of the country's leading democracy advocates. "The protest continues because there are no guarantees and not all demands have been met," he added. "We did not sign on to the statement. This is a beginning of a dialogue. We approve the positive things in the statement but ... we are still demanding that the president step down." V. P. Suleiman offered to set up a committee of judiciary and political figures to study proposed constitutional reforms that would allow more candidates to run for president and impose term limits on the presidency, the state news agency reported. The committee was given until the first week of March to finish the tasks.