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Alright, alright, there’s some progress being made, hopefully Hosni Mubarak realizes that its a wrap and throws in the towel soon.

CAIRO — The top leadership body of Egypt’s ruling party resigned today, including the president’s son, but the regime appeared to be digging in its heels, calculating that it can ride out street demonstrations and keep President Hosni Mubarak in office.

The ruling party leaders who resigned included the country’s most powerful political figures — and its most unpopular among many Egyptians. The move may have been aimed at convincing protesters in the streets that the regime is sincere in implementing democratic reforms they demand.

But State TV, announcing the resignations, still identified head of state Mubarak as president of the ruling party in a sign he would remain in authority. And Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said Saturday that stability was returning to the country, appearing confident that a deal on future reforms can be reached with the multiple opposition movements to defuse protests without the 82-year-old Mubarak necessarily leaving power immediately.

Protesters have refused to end their mass rallies in downtown Tahrir Square until Mubarak quits. Tens of thousands gathered today in Tahrir, waving flags and chanting a day after some 100,000 massed there in an intensified demonstration labeled “the day of departure,” in hopes it would be the day Mubarak leaves.

Their unprecedented 12-day movement has entered a delicate new phase. Organizers fear that without the pressure of protesters on the street, Mubarak’s regime will enact only cosmetic reforms and try to preserve its grip on power. So they are reluctant to lift their demonstrations without the concrete gain of Mubarak’s ouster and a transition mechanism that guarantees a real move to democracy afterward.

Mubarak has insisted he will remain in his post until the end of his term in his autumn. In the meantime, the government has sought to draw opposition parties and the youth groups involved in the protests into immediate negotiations on constitutional reforms so presidential elections can be held in September to replace Mubarak.

Protest organizers, wary of a trap, have refused until Mubarak goes. A key question will be whether they can maintain enthusiasm and continue to rally large numbers. Some in Tahrir greeted the new concession of ruling party resignations

with with scorn.

Wael Khalil, a 45-year-old activist, said it would “reinforce their (protersers’) resolve and increase their confidence because it shows that they are winning, and the regime is retreating inch by inch.”

We here at Bossip would encourage all the people of Egypt to hold tight to your convictions and do not let up until the government gives you exactly what you want!

Wonder what it would take for the people of the U.S. to stand and be heard in this same fashion?

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