CAIRO — Egypt’s embattled President Hosni Mubarak has set up a committee to discuss and recommend constitutional changes that will relax eligibility rules for who can run for president and limit the number of presidential terms.
Vice President Omar Suleiman said Tuesday that Mubarak also decreed the creation of a separate committee to monitor the implementation of all proposed reforms.
The moves are the first concrete steps taken by the longtime authoritarian ruler to implement reforms promised during two weeks of mass protests. So far government concessions have fallen short of the demands of protester demands that Mubarak immediately step down.
Mubarak also ordered a probe into clashes last week between the protesters and supporters of the president.
On Monday, the White House eased its calls on Mubarak to relax his grip on government, lauding the steps he’d taken to date as "monumental changes."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also appeared to chastise opposition groups that have resisted entering into talks on reforming the government presided over by newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman, before Mubarak has departed.
Gibbs’s comments came as the US, which has emphasized the need for an “orderly transition” in the face of chaotic protests, indicated that a quick exit by Mubarak could lead to further turmoil and complicate the creation of a new government that is truly democratic.
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