Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei called on Wednesday for an emergency national meeting to end ongoing violence.
In a message posted on Twitter, ElBaradei said the meeting is necessary to take immediate steps to put an end to the violence and begin a “serious” national dialogue.
He said the meeting should include President Mohamed Morsy, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Defense Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi, and leaders from political parties, Islamist movements and the National Salvation Front (NSF).
“Putting an end to the violence is the priority,” ElBaradie said in a second message on Twitter. He added that a “serious” national dialogue requires meeting earlier NSF demands, starting with appointing a national salvation government and forming a committee to amend the constitution.
Hossam Mo’ness, spokesperson of the Popular Current, said ElBaradei’s call doesn’t contradict the NSF’s stance.
“We do not reject dialogue,” Mo’ness said, referring to the NSF, of which the Popular Current is a member. “But we have contributed to dialogues with the president before. He ended up going against all that we agreed upon.”
The NSF has previously turned down two invitations from Morsy to join a national dialogue. The first national dialogue was boycotted by the NSF for lacking a clear agenda and guarantees to abide by what is agreed on during the dialogue.
The latest invite was given during Morsy’s address to the nation Sunday night; the NSF has since rejected the invitation.
The NSF’s prerequisites to joining this national dialogue include; changing current economic policies, removing the prosecutor general Tal’at Abdallah from his post and allowing the Supreme Judiciary Council to appoint a new prosecutor general. “All we want is the president’s primary approval of those demands for us to take part in any national dialogue,” Mo’ness said.
