As a standoff with protesters seeking the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak entered its third week Tuesday, demonstrators called for continued mass rallies against their embattled leader.
Several thousand demonstrators crowded into central Cairo's Tahrir Square, and vowed to stay until the 82-year-old Mubarak, who has been in power for 30 years, steps down.
At mid-morning Tuesday, volunteers swept the dusty grounds, as others milled in the plaza. Impromptu security details, including young girls in headscarves, screened visitors for weapons at the square's entrances. At a field hospital in a small mosque bordering the square, nurses sorted donated medicines.
Vice President Omar Suleiman said Tuesday that Egypt has a plan and timetable for the peaceful transfer of power, promising no reprisals against the protesters for their lengthy demonstrations.
"A clear road map has been put in place with a set timetable to realize the peaceful and organized transfer of power," Suleiman said.
Mubarak has taken a series of measures to ease the country's political crisis since the protests began on Jan. 25 but thus far has refused demands to step down immediately.
The President insists that he intends to serve the remainder of his current, six-year term, which expires in September, and that he would die in Egypt, thus rejecting any suggestion that he should leave the country.
The Government announced on Monday a 15-percent raise in monthly salaries and pensions for about 6 million public employees in a bid to alleviate people's outrage.
The new cabinet, formed days after the outbreak of the protests, held its first full meeting Monday under Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq to coordinate a government effort to restore order in Egypt.
Meanwhile, Mubarak on Monday ordered the establishment of a committee to investigate the riots that took place between anti-government protesters and pro-Mubarak Egyptians that left 11 people dead and nearly 900 others injured last Wednesday, state media reported.
The President also held meetings with leaders of legislative and executive entities to follow the recent developments of the crisis and discuss political and economic reforms.
The Government has been making a string of concessions that were unimaginable before the protests.
Mubarak appointed a new cabinet, replacing an unpopular interior minister in charge of police, named a vice president, the first in nearly 30 years, and said that he would not seek another term in office.
The Government also has opened dialogue with opposition leaders and youth representatives. Suleiman said that any proposals for reform were open for discussion and he has even agreed to talk to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, long shunned by Mubarak's government as its most bitter rival.
After talks with the opposition groups, the government on Monday issued a statement, saying that an agreement had been reached on "the formation of a committee, which will include the judiciary and a number of political figures, to study and propose constitutional amendments and required legislative amendments, before the first week of March."
But Mubarak's opponents said concessions made in the talks were not enough to halt the protests. The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest and best organized opposition group, said after the meeting that the government made few concessions but acknowledged that the talks were at a preliminary stage.