Egyptian Culture Minister, Farouq Hosny, has presented his resignation in an indication of accepting responsibility over a fire in a local earlier this month, state-run newspapers said on Thursday.
The front-page items in both al-Ahram and al-Akhbar said Hosny put his resignation at the disposal of President Hosni Mubarak ”in an indication of accepting political responsibility of the Beni Suef fire”.
Government sources said on Thursday that Mubarak has not yet accepted Hosny’s resignation.
The death toll of the fire in a theatre south of Cairo killed 46 people, including three prominent theatre critics, actors and theatre instructors, according to a report by the general prosecutor investigating the case.
The report on Wednesday said seven employees of the Beni Suef theatre were being held for interrogation.
A group of 150 intellectuals presented last week a demand at the Office of the General Prosecutor for the resignation of the ministers of interior, health and culture.
Government officials have been critical of the ”upheaval”, saying opposition groups are taking advantage of the tragic accident ”for political gains”. — Sapa-DPA