Arab regimes struggle against revolt spread

From talks with the opposition to promises not to stay in power forever, Arab regimes are taking steps aimed at stopping Tunisian and Egyptian-style popular revolts spreading to their doorsteps.

Protests about a lack of political rights and freedom of expression, corruption and police abuses, unemployment and high food prices have sprung up in several countries.

Since Tunisia's longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted during a popular revolt in mid-January, the question on everyone's lips has been: who is next?

The first answer came from Egypt, where two weeks of unprecedented protests have rocked the three-decade rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

Faced with rising pressure from the street, Mubarak, 82, announced that he would not seek another term when his mandate ends in September, promised reforms and invited the opposition to a national dialogue.

Those at the talks included the powerful but banned Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamists' first official encounter with the regime in half a century.

Since then, other Arab leaders have also announced that they will not stay in power forever, as once appeared to be the case.

Like Mubarak, who stressed that his decision not to stand again was taken a long time ago and had nothing to do with the deadly protests, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said his decision had been taken beforehand.

"I have personally decided not to seek another term after this one, a decision I made at the beginning of my first term," Maliki told AFP, adding that he wanted to change the constitution to limit premierships to two terms.

"One of the characteristics of a lack of democracy could be when a leader rules for 30 or 40 years," Maliki told AFP. "It is a difficult issue for people. It may be intolerable, and change is necessary."

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in power since 1978 through Cold War division, a civil war, rebellions and an Al-Qaeda insurgency, has also made concessions in the face of protests.