German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak on Sunday to respond to the demands of his people for change, a government spokesman said, dpa reported.
The chancellor held a lengthy telephone conversation with Mubarak during the afternoon about the situation in Egypt, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.
Merkel called on the president to ensure that Egypt's security forces refrain from using violence against protesters, who on Sunday took to the streets for the sixth straight day to press for reforms.
She also asked the president to guarantee freedom of information, following Egypt's move to cut internet links and ban Arab tv news channel al-Jazeera for its reporting of the protests.
Merkel expressed the hope that Mubarak and Egypt's new government rapidly implement promised reforms.
It was also essential the government enter into a dialogue with the population, particularly the young people, and "respond to their legitimate demands," the spokesman quoted Merkel as saying.
The situation in Egypt is expected to be one of the topics when Merkel meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks in Jerusalem on Monday.
Earlier, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle assured anti- government protesters in Egypt of his country's solidarity with them, saying that life could no longer return to normal there.
...