Monday Evening Update: Egyptian Army Says It Will Not Fire On Rebels As Mubarak Offers Talks And Muslim Brotherhood Takes Center Stage

New York Times:

CAIRO — The political forces aligned against President Hosni Mubarak seemed to strengthen on Monday, when the Army said for the first time that it would not fire on the protesters who have convulsed Egypt for the last week. The announcement was followed shortly by the government’s first offer to talk to the protest leaders.

The offer of negotiations on constitutional and legislative reforms was made by the new vice president, Omar Suleiman, who did not offer further details. But it seemed to represent an attempt to blunt the devastating effect of the Army’s statement, which came as the Egyptian economy reeled and on the eve of what organizers hope will be the largest demonstrations yet — a “march of millions” and a general strike — on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear who Mr. Suleiman addressed his offer to, or whether the opposition would accept. While the protesters have consistently demanded Mr. Mubarak’s resignation above all else, they have lately indicated a willingness to discuss a unity government leading to elections. On Sunday, Egypt’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood and the secular opposition said they had chosen a prominent government critic, Mohamed ElBaradei, to represent their side in possible negotiations with the Army over Mr. Mubarak’s departure.

The Army’s announcement — delivered on state TV with no elaboration by its official spokesman — declared that “freedom of expression through peaceful means is guaranteed to everybody,” and promised to recognize the “legitimate demands” of the protesters.

While the carefully worded statement was seen by some as a veiled threat to use force against those who do not use peaceful means, an associate of Mr. Mubarak’s said it should be taken at face value.

“The Army is not a puppet in the hands of anybody,” including Mr. Mubarak, said Mahmoud Shokry, a retired diplomat and a friend of Mr. Suleiman. “The Army does not want to make any confrontation with the youth.” He said the generals would “ask Mr. Mubarak to leave” before they would accept orders they think could lead to civil war or risk their credibility with the public.

Still, opposition leaders said they were not prepared to celebrate the announcement as the turning point it proved in Tunisia, where the government collapsed after the military refused to shoot at its own people.

The military’s announcement followed a cabinet reshuffle by Mr. Mubarak that the opposition dismissed ahead of time as window dressing. The president appeared fatigued in a ceremony broadcast on state television in which he welcomed a new interior minister, Mahmoud Wagdy, a retired general, who replaces the widely reviled Habib el-Adly. Mr. Mubarak left several longtime associates in place, including the foreign minister, the minister of information and the defense minister.

Since the demonstrations began last Tuesday, Mr. Mubarak has stayed mostly out of sight, apparently intent on waiting for the protesters’ passions to cool. But as the tens of thousand of demonstrators gathered in Liberation Square on Monday shouted for his ouster, and as the Egyptian economy sagged and financial chaos loomed, that strategy was beginning to look threadbare.

With the Internet still broadly disrupted, Egyptians gathered at mosques around the city for noon prayers and then marched by the hundreds and thousands toward Liberation Square on Monday, passing groups of security police and soldiers.

Army troops checked the identity of people entering the square and began placing a cordon of concrete barriers and razor wire around its access routes, news reports said. But there were no immediate reports of clashes with the protesters, who have cast the military as their ally and protector. As military helicopters circled overhead, demonstrators jabbed their fists in the air, chanting, “The people and the army are one hand.”

In contrast to previous days in the uprising, which were dominated by the young, the demonstrations Monday included a more obvious contingent of older, disciplined protesters and members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Islamist organization, outlawed under the Mubarak government, has been playing a steadily larger role in the demonstrations, after holding back at the outset.