"We have to preserve the constitution, even if it is amended," Abul Gheit told Al-Arabiya television, according to the MENA news agency.

"He warned that if chaos occurs, the armed forces will intervene to control the country, a step, he said, which would lead to a very dangerous situation," the news agency said, paraphrasing the interview.

Gheit's remarks came the day after Egypt's Vice President Omar Suleiman warned those protesting in the street against Mubarak risk provoking a situation in which a coup d'etat was possible.

Suleiman's statement was dismissed by many of the protesters on the streets of Cairo, and denounced as a threat by one of the most powerful of opposition groups, the Muslim Brotherhood.

"This amounts to a threat that is unacceptable in the eyes of the Egyptian people," Mohammed Mursi, a spokesman for the Islamist group.

"The protesters have imposed a new legitimacy, and this legitimacy should be respected, for it cannot be threatened," he said.

Since January 25, Egypt has been gripped by mass protests against the government, with hundreds of thousands taking part in street rallies and many occupying a key square in downtown Cairo and a street near parliament.

The demonstrators want Mubarak to step down immediately, but he has vowed to hang on until presidential elections in September, in order, he says, to ensure an orderly transition in power.

Opposition parties want major constitutional reform to allow them to compete in the presidential and legislative elections on a level playing field.

earlier related report
US welcomes Syria access to Facebook, YouTube
Washington (AFP) Feb 9, 2011 - An aide to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday welcomed Syria's decision to give its people direct access to Facebook and You Tube, but voiced fears that users would run risks without freedom of expression.

"Welcome positive move on Facebook & YouTube in #Syria but concerned that freedom puts users at risk absent freedom of expression&association," Alec Ross, Clinton's senior advisor for innovation, said on the microblogging website Twitter.

In Damascus, Internet users said that for the first time since 2007, Syrians could directly log onto Facebook and YouTube without going through proxy servers abroad.

The authorities issued no statements regarding the development, but Syria's leading media and technology entrepreneur, Abdulsalam Haykal, told AFP that the request to lift the block "had reached Internet service providers."

"The process of lifting the ban will take time and may extend for hours or days, according to the supplier," he added.

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