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Tag: Mohamed ElBaradei

  • El-Badawi meets Morsy despite NSF boycott

    Al-Wafd Party Chairman El-Sayed El-Badawi met with President Mohamed Morsy Monday night over the objections of the National Salvation Front (NSF).

    El-Badawi, whose party is a founding member of the NSF, did not disclose the results of the meeting to members of Al-Wafd, the NSF, or the media.

    The meeting took place at the presidential palace and was also attended by Al-Wasat Party Chairman Abul Ela Madi. The agenda was the “continuation of national dialogue and expanding the scope of participation,” the presidency said in a statement.

    El-Badawi’s decision to meet Morsy was controversial because the NSF, a broad coalition of opposition parties and groups that Al-Wafd is a member of, has refused to hold talks with the president unless he postpones the referendum on the constitution scheduled for Saturday.

    “Al-Wafd Party affirms the position taken by the National Salvation Front regarding the constitution and the referendum,” said El-Badawi who did not explain why he met Morsy.

    He added that postponing the referendum would clear the way for more national dialogue and lead to a constitution that enjoys broader consensus.

    NSF coordinator and Al-Dostour Party Chairman Mohamed ElBaradei told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Monday night that the CSF rejects Morsy’s calls to dialogue because the talks would not be on even ground.

    “[Morsy] has to postpone the referendum and rescind his decree giving him sweeping powers since he only cancelled some of them. Then we will meet tomorrow if he wants. We will not hold talks at the edge of a sword,” said ElBaradei.

    El-Badawi’s decision to meet Morsy has caused internal outrage within his party. Al-Wafd high board member and Shura Council Member of Parliament Salah Al-Sayegh called on the high board to dismiss El-Badawi from office for meeting the president.

    “El-Sayed El-Badawi has to uphold the decisions of the National Salvation Front in which Al-Wafd is strongly represented, especially when it comes to the front’s decision not to hold talks with Morsy unless the referendum is postponed.”

  • Opposition marches to Presidential Palace

    Opposition marches to Presidential Palace

    Egyptian security lay out barbed wire around the Itihadiya presidential palace in the neighbourhood of Heliopolis in Cairo, on December 4, 2012. AFP PHOTO/STR

    Egypt’s opposition called for protests and marches across the country Tuesday to protest the holding of the referendum on the draft constitution on Saturday.

    The largest opposition bloc, the National Salvation Front (NSF), called on supporters to fill Tahrir Square and “other liberation squares in the capital and the governorates” in addition to several planned marches to the Presidential Palace in Heliopolis.

    In Cairo, protesters will march to the palace at 4pm from Al-Matareyah Square in Ain Shams; Ibn Sandar Square and Al-Sheikh Koshk Mosque in Heliopolis; Tayaran Street and Hejaz Square in Nasr City; and Al-Nour Mosque from Abbaseya.

    The Republican Guard has erected concrete walls around the palace ahead of the protests, adding to two they built following clashes between opposition protesters and Morsy supporters on Wednesday that left at least seven dead and hundreds injured.

    The streets leading to the palace have been sealed and are controlled by the Central Security Forces and the Republican Guard.

    The NSF is a broad coalition of secular and revolutionary parties and groups, including Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei’s Al-Dostour Party, third placed presidential runner up Hamdeen Sabahy’s Popular Current and former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa’s Conference Party. ElBaradei serves as the group’s general coordinator.

    Other member groups include the Wafd Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Free Egyptians Party, the Tagammu Party and the Democratic Front Party.

    The April 6 Youth Movement and the Revolutionary Socialists have also announced their participation in the protests.

    Former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh’s moderate Islamist Strong Egypt Party said it opposed the constitution but did not announce its participation in any protests or marches.

    The party is in opposition to the constitution but not the holding of the referendum and has already begun the campaign for a “no” vote.

    Other protests and marches are planned in Alexandria, Suez, Monufia, Dakahlia, Ismailia, Mahala, Red Sea, Luxor, Sohag, Fayoum, Beni Suef and Port Said.

  • Opposition rejects new presidential decree

    Opposition rejects new presidential decree

    Leaders of the National Salvation Front head civil parties march to Tahrir against presidential constitutional decree. (DNE / Basil Al-Dabh)

    Egypt’s largest opposition group has rejected President Mohamed Morsy’s latest decree and the 15 December constitutional referendum. It called for mass mobilisation against the referendum on Tuesday.

    The National Salvation Front (NSF) called for large protests and rallies in Tahrir Square and “other squares in the capital and governorates” in response to Morsy’s “indifference towards their legitimate demands.”

    In a statement released Sunday night, the front, which is led by Al-Dostour Party Chairman Mohamed ElBaradei, Popular Current leader Hamdeen Sabahy and former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, rejected the referendum and said it would “only lead to further sedition and division.”

    The statement also warned against holding a referendum amid troubling security conditions that feature “threats by the Muslim Brotherhood’s militias and terrorist gangs levelled against protestors and demonstrators.”

    This is a “reflection of recklessness and blatant irresponsibility on the part of a regime that ventures to push the country to the verge of violent confrontations, risking its national security,” read the statement.

    The statement went on to say that the Ministry of Interior is being blackmailed into using “old methods” to quell dissent and opposition protests.

    The NSF said the constitution being put up for referendum negates political and social rights and entrenches presidential authoritarianism. They added that Morsy was being authoritarian and coercive and that his group, the Muslim Brotherhood, was “hijacking the state.”

    Finally the front said it salutes and respects the stance of “Egypt’s esteemed judges” in their refusal to provide judicial oversight for the referendum and their decision to put the country’s courts on strike “in defence of justice and the rule of law.”

    Despite the front’s decision to boycott the referendum, several opposition groups and parties have opted to instead campaign for a “no” vote, including some that are members of the NSF.

    The Egyptian Social Democratic Party, a founding party of the NSF, will make a decision regarding boycott depending on the stance of Egypt’s judges. Nonetheless, the party has already started campaigning against the draft constitution, said foreign relations committee chairman Hussein Gohar.

    Jermeen Nasr, founding member of ElBaradei’s Al-Dostour Party, said the youth of the party would campaign for a “no” vote, despite the official position of the party to boycott.

    Former presidential candidate Abdel Moniem Aboul Fotouh’s Strong Egypt Party released a statement saying it “appreciated the president’s response in repealing his decree.”

    The party “does not appreciate the way the constitution was passed through the Constituent Assembly” but will nonetheless participate in the referendum, voting against the constitution because it does not “meet the demands of the Egyptian people.”

  • ElBaradei spends the night in Tahrir

    ElBaradei spends the night in Tahrir

    Mohamed ElBaradei continued protests against President Morsy’s constitutional declaration by staying the night in Tahrir Square. (Hizb El-Dostour Facebook page)

    Mohamed ElBaradei spent the night in Tahrir square on Friday; after participating in the so called Martyr’s Dream march.

    The march was the latest in a sequence of protests against President Mohamed Morsy’s constitutional declaration, in which he removed the former Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud and stated that presidential decisions cannot be reversed by the judiciary. The protesters also denounced the draft constitution and claim the Constituent Assembly is not representative of the people.

    ElBaradei, head of Al-Dostour party, gave a speech in Tahrir and said he is willing to cooperate with all political powers, but only after the annulment of the constitutional declaration.

    Emad Abo Ghazy, secretary general of Al-Dostour party said “The constitutional declaration must be annulled, it’s invalid and defective. We also reject the draft constitution that was [passed] in 48 hours by a controversial assembly.”

    It was the first time ElBaradei had spent the night in Tahrir and the square was abuzz with protesters’ excitement.

    The National Rescue Front (NRF), a coalition of several parties and movements against the constitutional declaration, issued a statement on Friday night; they stated they were considering marching towards the presidential palace and demonstrating at its gates.

    The five point statement on rejected the presidential declaration and stressed invalidity of the draft resolution adopted by the Constituent Assembly, holding the president responsible for conflicts between political powers.

    “We emphasise that the continuation of political stubbornness, the underestimation of the size of popular rejection and the president’s intention to put forward the invalid draft constitution to a popular referendum subjects the country to a state of paralysis and compromises the legitimacy of the president” the statement read.

    The NRF saluted judges for defending the independence of the judiciary and rejecting the declaration, it also supported the decision of several independent newspapers and channels to strike.

    The statement said that leaders of the NRF would spend the night in Tahrir along with the protesters and stressed the right of people to protest peacefully, including a general strike and civil disobedience.

  • ElBaradei leads Shubra march against presidential decree

    ElBaradei leads Shubra march against presidential decree

    Mohamed ElBaradei attends a protest rally in the Shubra district of Cairo. (DNE/ Ethar Shalaby)
    Mohamed ElBaradei attends a protest rally in the Shubra district of Cairo. (DNE/ Ethar Shalaby)

    Al-Dostour Party leader Mohamed ElBaradei led on Tuesday thousands of protesters to Tahrir square where numerous marches have gathered to protest Morsy’s above-the-law constitutional declaration.

    The march started from Al-Khazendar mosque, located at the beginning of Shubra neighbourhood in Cairo. It is estimated that over 10,000 Egyptians have took to the streets from this area marching to Tahrir. Award-winning novelist Alaa Al-Aswany, political analyst Amr Hamzawy, and activists from various secular political parties, including Mohamed Abul Ghar, Ziad Al Elimy, Karima Al Hefnawy, have participated.

    Protesters chanted “Bread, Freedom and the fall of the Constituent Assembly,” “to the square we go, revolutionaries in millions” and “the Muslim Brotherhood cannot be trusted… down down with the guide’s regime.”

    Emad Gad, ex-parliamentarian and one of the senior members of the Egyptian Democratic Social Party, told Daily News Egypt the situation in Cairo proves that the opposition to President Mohamed Morsy is not meager. “Morsy has to cancel the recent constitutional declaration to be able to reach national accord,” Gad said.

    Mahmoud Ahmed, a protester and a member of the Egyptian Democratic Social Party, said all marches will exceed millions of demonstrators. “I would like to address Morsy and tell him that we are taking to the streets today against all your decisions. Our voice will come out of Tahrir.” He added that Tuesday marches are only a rehearsal to a probable massive protest if Morsy did not back off from his recent decisions.

    Many demonstrations carried flags that denote their membership in parties like Al-Adl, Al-Dostour, the Free Egyptians and the Egyptian Democratic Social Party. Women were seen holding their children and chanting with protesters in balconies.

    Alaa Al-Sayed, another protester, said he came to voice his opposition to Morsy and his Islamist group. “I am sure that these marches will have fruitful results, otherwise Morsy will have to step down,” Al-Sayed said. Another demonstrator Mahmoud Ismail agreed. He said, “we will stay in Tahrir until we hear the news of the cancellation of this catastrophic constitutional declaration”. If Morsy did not react to the protesters, Ismail said “we will then have to start a new revolution to kick him out of the office.”

    Taher Abu Zaid, an Egyptian football player, said, “the Egyptian street is speaking today. We completely reject the constitutional declaration and the Constituent Assembly…we are here today to voice our protest to Morsy’s decisions.”

    Abu Zaid said that the next step would be million man marches that call for the fall of the entire regime.

    Until now, hundreds of thousands of protests are filling Tahrir Square calling for the abolishment of the constitutional declaration.

  • ElBaradei warns of civil war risk

    ElBaradei warns of civil war risk

    Former UN nuclear monitor and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei. (AFP photo)
    Former UN nuclear monitor and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei expressed dire concern for the Egyptian economy. (AFP PHOTO)

    In interviews with international and domestic news outlets Al-Dostour Party leader Mohamed ElBaradei has raised the spectre of civil war as a reaction to President Mohamed Morsy’s recent constitutional declaration.

    “Not even the pharaohs had so much authority, to say nothing of his predecessor Hosni Mubarak,” ElBaradei told German newspaper Der Spiegel. “This is a catastrophe, it a mockery of the revolution that brought him to power.”

    In the same interview ElBaradei warned that “a civil war threatens to erupt in Egypt.”

    ElBaradei has always spoken out against the consolation of power, first under Mubarak, then under the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, and now under Morsy. However, it seems that the most recent declaration has impressed a sense of urgency upon the former diplomat and Nobel Prize winner.

    ElBaradei told Reuters, “there is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures.”

    “ElBaradei knows very well that Dr Morsy is not a dictator,” said Alaa Abu Nasr, the Secretary-General of the Building and Development Party. “[ElBaradei knows Morsy’s] declaration is temporary until we have a constitution and the parliamentary elections.

    Abu Nasr continued to say that the measures are to protect the policitical process against the Constitutional Court. Abu Nasr said the Constituional Court is polticised and was planning to dissolve the Shura Council.

    “Dr Morsy [already] had the legislative authority in his hands,” Abu Nasr pointed out. “He wanted to bring back the People’s Assembly, but the Constitutional Court prevented it. That shows that he didn’t want to hold all the power in his hands.”

    ElBaradei told the Associated Press that he hoped spiralling violence could be avoided, but doubted that was possible without Morsy’s full withdrawal of his declaration.

    Discussing methods with Reuters, ElBaradei said, “we will have to continue to escalate our level of expressing resistance, peaceful disobedience.” He then philosophised that Egyptians still seek a saviour-leader instead of working to build a broad coalition government to achieve of consensus, equality and order.

    ElBaradei gave an in-depth interview to Al-Masry al-Youm newspaper on Sunday. In the interview he explained the events that followed Morsy’s Thursday declaration. He said discussions immediately began with many different public figures and it was quickly agreed that differences needed to be set aside to confront this new challenge. Seventy people met at the Wafd Party headquarters and agreed that they would not even talk with Morsy until he repealed his declaration.

    Addressing theories that the United States had given approval, tacit or otherwise, for Morsy’s declaration, ElBaradei said he did not believe this to be true. He believes the west will push back against what ElBaradei says is an affront to democratic principles.

    “In general,” Abu Nasr said, making sure not to mention ElBaradei by name, “whoever gets used to living in filthy swamps cannot live in a clean environment and whoever gets used to the US and the west feeding them, will always bow down to the west. However, after the 25 January Revolution we will not bow down to anyone. Whoever wants to bow down to the US can leave Egypt. Now the masks have dropped. Whoever doubted that those who call on the west and America to intervene in our affairs are agents, it is now obvious to see that they are agents for the west.”

    Ramia Azab, ElBaradei’s personal spokesperson, said the ElBaradei camp was not specifically seeking to bring an international audience to the present debate in Egypt. Instead she said that ElBaradei was granting interviews to all major news organisations that were requesting them of him.

     

    Additional reporting by Sarah Al-Masry

  • ElBaradei meets with Morsy

    ElBaradei meets with Morsy

    Al-Dostour chairman, Mohamed ElBaradei presented President Morsy with his party’s vision. (AFP / FILE PHOTO / JIM WATSON)

    Al-Dostour Party Chairman Mohamed ElBaradei expressed his reservations over the Constituent Assembly and explained his party’s political vision to President Mohamed Morsy in a Tuesday meeting.

    “ElBaradei made some reservations over some constitutional articles and the Constituent Assembly itself. He also presented the president with Al-Dostour Party’s vision,” said presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali.

    Ali would not elaborate as to which constitutional articles in particular ElBaradei spoke to Morsy about.

    “This comes as part of the series of meetings President Morsy is having with leaders of national and political forces in an attempt to achieve constitutional stability in the country,” added Ali.

    Morsy has previously met with presidential candidates Hamdeen Sabahi, Abdel Moniem Aboul Fotouh and Amr Moussa. His meeting with ElBaradei was postponed due to the latter having other engagements at the time.

    The Nobel laureate is an outspoken opponent of the Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting the new constitution, long maintaining it that it is unrepresentative of the Egyptian people.

    He issued a statement in September in collaboration with third placed presidential runner up Hamdeen Sabahi, and various other groups and parties, calling for a boycott of the assembly and urging its secular and liberal members to resign.

    Al-Dostour Secretary General Emad Abu Ghazi released a statement prior to the meeting, saying that ElBaradei’s comments about former members of the disbanded National Democratic Party at an Aswan rally had been misinterpreted.

    ElBaradei said that the defunct party, led by former President Hosni Mubarak, had three million members and that it was impossible that they were all corrupt, calling for national reconciliation.

    Abu Ghazi said the comment was being widely interpreted to suggest in that ElBaradei was for an alliance with remnants of the former regime, but really he only meant those not involved in corruption or wrong doing.

    He added that some people were “misguided” in joining the party but not corrupt, and that a national reconciliation process like that of post-Apartheid South Africa was needed.

    Abu Ghazi denied that party Deputy Chairman Ahmed El-Borai or any other Al-Dostour officials were meeting with former National Democratic Party members to discuss electoral alliances, or anything at all.

  • ElBaradei speech criticised by Al-Nour spokesman

    ElBaradei speech criticised by Al-Nour spokesman

    Al-Nour spokesman slams ElBaradei over speech. (AFP / FILE PHOTO / MAHMUD HAMS)
    Al-Nour spokesman slams ElBaradei over speech. (AFP / FILE PHOTO / MAHMUD HAMS)

    A member of the Al-Nour Party high board, Youssry Hamad, has criticised the chairman of the Dostour Party Mohamed ElBaradei for comments he made during a speech on Friday. Addressing his party, ElBaradei said they were “more Islamic than the clowns of religion who call people infidels and secularist as they please and act as if they have moral authority over us.”

    Hamad responded by saying ElBaradei’s statements could be punishable by law, saying “some politicians forget in the midst of politics the principles, rules and protocols around appropriate language.”

    ElBaradei had no respect for other ideologies and opinions, Hamad said. As an educated man “who has a doctorate in law, and worked in international institutions, [ElBaradei’s] use of obscenities, vulgar language and contempt for others in Aswan is punishable by law.” He further said that people are unsure what it is ElBaradei wants as his political stance is unclear.

    Under Egyptian law, “if a person insults another person with no reason they must be punished,” according to Hamad. “The law does not allow for people to insult one another with no basis.”

    Hamad said he was not looking to pursue legal action against ElBaradei, but wanted to make him aware that he could face legal action for attacks on people’s ideology and character. “I can discuss these things with you without resorting to an attack on your character,” Hamad said.

    ElBaradei’s criticism was directed at Islamists who use terms such as ‘infidels’ when describing non-Muslims. Hamad said he does not agree with the use of the word infidel when describing others. “Everyone has the right to express their thoughts and ideology in a way that does not lead to personal attacks,” he said.

    Al-Nour is a Salafi party which has been pushing for the amendment to the constitution regarding Shari’a law. Despite their desire to have Shari’a as the principle source of legislation, Al-Nour rejects protest as a means to achieve this. The 9 November Shari’a Friday protest drew thousands, but Al-Nour was absent.

    “Protesting is not the way for us to achieve our goals,” Hamad said.

  • ElBaradei to meet Morsy Tuesday

    ElBaradei to meet Morsy Tuesday

    Mohamed ElBaradei (right) visits Aswan and talks to the father of Mohamed Mohsen, a young man who died in July during clashes near to the Ministry of Defense buildings in the Abbasseya district of Cairo. (DOSTOR PARTY FACEBOOK PAGE)
    Mohamed ElBaradei (right) visits Aswan and talks to the father of Mohamed Mohsen, a young man who died in July during clashes near to the Ministry of Defense buildings in the Abbasseya district of Cairo. (DOSTOR PARTY FACEBOOK PAGE)

    Al-Dostour party chairman, Mohamed ElBaradei, said he would meet President Mohamed Morsy next Tuesday. The meeting was postponed twice due to ElBaradei being abroad and then going to Aswan on a visit.

    ElBaradei’s meeting with Morsy will be the latest in a series the president is holding with opposition leaders and former presidential candidates. Morsy already met with Popular Current founder and third placed presidential runner up, Hamdeen Sabahy, as well as presidential candidates Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh.

    The Nobel laureate held a party meeting in Aswan where he told Al-Dostour youth that if a fair electoral law were drafted, the party would secure a majority in the next parliamentary elections.

    “Everyone is afraid of us even though the party is still in the crib, and together we will secure a majority in the next elections,” he said.

    He also addressed party members in a Friday press conference. Those in attendance chanted, “the ship needs a captain and ElBaradei is that captain” only for him to say that it is the youth who are “the leaders of the revolution.”

    He invited civil parties and groups to form a united coalition for the elections. He called for a national reconciliation process. He said the disbanded former ruling National Democratic Party had three million members, and it was impossible for all of them to be corrupt.

    ElBaradei also criticised Islamists who campaign for Shari’a law implementation and attack those who oppose them using religious arguments.

    “We are more Islamic than the clowns of religion who call people infidels and secularists as they please and act as if they have moral authority over us,” he told a crowd of Al-Dostour members and supporters.

    He added that his party has a real program and was not “going to give out oil and sugar.”

    The former International Atomic Energy Agency director expressed his dismay for what he called “the useless debate” going on inside the Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting the country’s new constitution.

    “We have said from the start that Islam is the principle source of legislation, but we want to use our brains and not just blindly follow others. The debate inside the Constitutional Assembly is useless and it should be discussing real crises like providing diesel fuel and butane,” he said.

    “The interests of the people is the true law of God and not the useless argument of liberalism, secularism, Islam and infidels. Instead of discussing blocking pornographic websites we should try to develop slum areas. Our agenda should be that of the revolution: bread, freedom and social justice,” added ElBaradei.

    He called for the formation of a new Constituent Assembly, calling the current one “unrepresentative.”

    ElBaradei addressed the recent events in Sinai, saying that the solution to the problems of Sinai can never be a military or security ones and that the only true option was development of the area.

    He added that the problems and discrimination facing Coptic Christians and Nubian Egyptians are being sidelined from public discourse.

    “What is taking place in Cairo in no way relates to what is on the mind of the average citizen,” said ElBaradei.

    ElBaradei also visited the home of Mohamed Mohsen, who was killed in the Abbaseya protests last year, spending time with his family. He promised to help improve the conditions of a local school named after Mohsen.

  • ElBaradei: The constitution is our main struggle

    ElBaradei: The constitution is our main struggle

    Former UN nuclear monitor and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei. (AFP photo)
    Former UN nuclear monitor and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei. (AFP PHOTO)

    Mohamed ElBaradei spoke to reporters in São Paulo, Brazil on Monday, on the political situation and democratic transition in Egypt.

    The leader of Al-Dostour Party reiterated his view that the current Constituent Assembly is not reflective of important segments of the Egyptian population, including women, the youth, and Christians.

    “There are very uncomfortable things [in the constitution draft],” said ElBaradei, in the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. “The constitution is the basic law; it is something which cannot compromise human freedom, dignity, and equality.”

    He said different interpretations of Islamic Shari’a law were the reason for dispute over the draft constitution. “Equality and justice are the cornerstones of Islam. There are many different takes on the Shari’a, and hence the clashes of opinions.”

    He highlighted the inability of the current government to deliver on Egyptians’ urgent needs. “We need to tend to healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Unfortunately, the transition was terrible [and] totally confused. We still haven’t harvested the fruits of the revolution, such as employment.”

    Baradei warned the Egypt’s transition would be slow and has created frustration among people seeking increased political participation and jobs. He claimed however, that people have already moved away from the culture of fear that had previously plagued the country.

    “We still have much work to do to ensure that we are on the right track,” said El Baradei. “What happens in Egypt will have an impact on the Arab World.”

    He said he would not run in Egypt’s next presidential elections, claiming his purpose was better served working on the “outside,” and that such plans should be pursued by the country’s younger generation.

    The Egyptian Nobel laureate also discussed Syria, stressing real diplomatic steps were needed to solve the situation, simply condemning the violence was not enough.

    The former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) secretary-general, downplayed rising tensions between the United States and Israel, and Iran, saying a war would be the last resort for both sides. He said both sides had to enter constructive dialogue, as sanctions alone would not solve the current impasse.

    ElBaradei is visiting Brazil to speak at the Frontiers of Thought conference, a cycle of cultural events organised and hosted by a group of high profile Brazilian professionals, in which political thinkers and leaders from all over the world come to give lectures. ElBaradei was scheduled to speak in São Paulo and Port Alegre about the political situation in Arab countries, and possible nuclear threats posed by countries such as Iran and North Korea.