UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday renewed a call for the Egyptian government and people to work out an "orderly and peaceful transition ... the sooner, the better."
Ban has been criticized, mostly by Egyptians, for meddling in their internal affairs by calling for the immediate start of a transition of power in the government of Egypt. But he avoided calling on President Hosni Mubarak to immediately resign, taking the same position adopted by many governments including the United States.
"What I said was that government leaders should listen more attentively to the genuine aspirations of the people, and there should be a transition - the sooner, the better," Ban told reportets at UN headquarters in New York, dpa reported.
He said the transition process and Egypt's future should be decided by the government and people.
Ban said that Mubarak, who has led Egypt for 30 years, has played a crucial role in Middle East peace, and that Egypt's strategic role in the region should preserved.
"It is important for government leaders and the people to sit down and engage in genuine dialogue about what would be the best for their future," he said, pointing out that it is "entirely" for Egyptians to decide.
Ban insisted that the demonstrators, who have been on the streets for more than two weeks in Cairo, have expressed "clear frustration" and it would be for the government to take into account their "legitimate" demands.
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