Egypt's official opposition parties said on Wednesday that they are ready to negotiate with the regime following Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's Tuesday announcement that he will ask the parliament to amend two articles of the Constitution. The three official opposition parties which include the liberal Wafd, the leftist Tagammu and the nationalist Nasserist parties warned against forcefully cracking down on thousands of anti-Mubarak protesters who clashed on Wednesday with pro-Mubarak protesters in Tahrir Square. "We have decided to enter in a dialogue and to respond to the invitation extended by Vice President Omar Suleiman... in order to maintain the safety, security and stability of the nation and the people," read the joint three-party statement. Historically, the parties have had an ambivalent relationship--that often vacillated between dissent and collaboration--with the regime. “We are not replacing the right to protest with dialogue with the regime. We assert that our youth in Tahrir Square are the security's responsibility and we warn the ruling National Democratic Party against irresponsible acts and its dishonorable past using national resources to hurt the protesters,” said Sameh Ashour, deputy president of the Nasserist Partyin a press conference. “The safety of the youth in Tahrir Square is our responsibility and we will withdraw from negotiations if they are harmed,” said Sayyed al-Badawy, Wafd president. Earlier, the three parties declined the invitation extended by Omar Suleiman, the newly appointed vice president, for negotiations on Monday. They announced that they will not negotiate with the regime until their demands are met. Their demands include Mubarak stepping down, the establishment of a national unity government, the formation of a committee to draft a new constitution, and the dissolution of the parliament. The coalition's statement released today attributes the change in its position to Mubarak's announcement on Tuesday that he will not run for the next presidential elections. Mohamed al-Beltagy, a Muslim Brotherhood former MP, said that the Muslim Brotherhood, the National Association for Change, and the protest movements on the ground plan to stick to their decision to refuse negotiation with the regime until Mubarak steps down. "Wafd and Tagammu are only representing themselves; they are not related to the people in order to be representatives of the opposition,” he said. Al-Beltagy said that the extreme violence that broke out in Tahrir Square represents Mubarak's final attempt to maintain power in the country. "Mubarak is giving the people a choice--whether to leave him in power for ten months, or to lose their lives," said al-Beltagy.
