Archive for National Association for Change

Cancellation of constitution top priority, ElBaradei says

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December 24th, 2012

Constitution Party head Mohamed ElBaradei said that if his party is successful in the coming parliamentary elections, the top priority would be the cancellation of the new constitution.

ElBaradei told BBC on Monday that he believes the new constitution constrains basic values such as freedom of belief and expression and independence of the judiciary.

The Constitution Party is a member of the National Salvation Front along with the Wafd, Conference, Egyptian Social Democratic and Popular Current parties, and the National Association for Change.

In a press conference on Sunday, the front said it would run for parliamentary elections on one list.

Earlier on Monday, Hamdeen Sabbahi, founder of the Popular Current, expected the front to secure a majority in the elections.

In an interview with the Turkish Anadolu news agency, Sabbahi rejected the new constitution, saying, “The referendum was manipulated. However, we’ll deal with it as a fact. We’ll struggle to cancel it.”

He added that comparing the results of the March 2011 referendum with the recent on indicates a decrease in Islamist popularity, specifically that of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In March 2011, the Constitutional Declaration was passed with a 78 percent vote after Islamist campaigns in support of the document. Preliminary results indicate that the draft constitution was approved by 64 percent. Sabbahi anticipated that this shift would help the NSF secure a majority in Parliament.

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Opposition denies presidency attempts at dialogue

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December 13th, 2012

Vice President Mahmoud Mekky held a third national dialogue session on Thursday with a number of political figures and legal experts to discuss the new draft constitution and ways to resolve the political crisis surrounding it.

The first session was on Saturday, but civilian forces rejected the president’s invitation unless he would postpone the rushed constitutional referendum in order to allow for true political dialogue. A second meeting was held earlier this week.

During Thursday's session the Committee of Experts, which was selected in the first session and chaired by former presidential candidate Mohamed Selim al-Awa, discussed proposed amendments to the draft constitution. They also discussed the nomination criteria for Shura Council membership.

The presidency issued a statement on Thursday, saying it has relayed the results of the session to the political forces that did not attend in order to explore their views, adding that dialogue would remain open with these forces so as to reach national consensus as far as possible on the draft constitution.

Opposition forces have however denied this, describing the gesture as “a lie.”

“We received nothing from the presidency,” said Emad Gad, vice president of the Social Democratic Party. “It was a session for the president and his supporters.”

Ahmed Bahaa Eddin Shaaban, coordinator of the National Association for Change, also said he did not receive anything from the presidency. “The president only invited the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamist groups,” he said.

Mahmoud al-Alaily of the Egyptian Liberal Party said the National Salvation Front, which is the largest opposition group, did not receive anything either.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Guidance Bureau instructs Brotherhood leaders to refrain from provocative statements

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November 20th, 2012

The Muslim Brotherhood Guidance Bureau gave strict instructions to all the leaders of the group and the Freedom and Justice Party not to make any press statements or comments on social networking sites that could provoke the public.

“Only the supreme guide and his deputies may speak for the group,” said Brotherhood Secretary General Mahmoud Hussein. “Anyone else would be speaking for himself.”

Farid Ismail, the party secretary in Sharqiya, said such statements are used to attack the party and the group. “We must stand with the political forces and the street,” he said.

A post that Essam al-Erian, a leader of the FJP, made on Twitter on August in which he accused leftist parties of receiving funds from abroad, submitting to foreign powers and ignoring the role of religion in society sparked an angry response on Facebook and Twitter.

Toqadom al-Khateeb, a member of the National Association for Change, called for Erian to be brought to trial for accusing the left of “defaming religion,” adding that Erian’s statements constitute a clear accusation of atheism and calling for the trial of that “ignorant liar.”

The group is currently evaluating the performance of the governors and other officials and classifying them as “corrupt” or “honest” in order to ask President Mohamed Morsy to replace them, the sources said.

“The names of those who should be replaced will be announced in two weeks,” said Amr Zaky, assistant party secretary general.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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After Assiut tragedy, activists call for mass Upper Egypt demo to dismiss Qandil

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November 20th, 2012

Activists, revolutionary groups and some politicians have called for mass protests across Upper Egypt governorates to demand the dismissal of Prime Minister Hesham Qandil in the wake of Saturday’s fatal train collision in Assiut that left 51 dead, the majority of them schoolchildren.

Tarek al-Kholy of the April 6 Youth Movement called the protest “a good move to make peoples of Upper Egypt participate in political life,” and said the main goal of the demonstration was to sack Qandil and his Cabinet.

The government is practicing the same policies as the collapsed regime regarding such accidents, Kholy claimed.

Qandil should be put on trial, and President Mohamed Morsy is also responsible for the accident, claimed Takadom al-Khatib, a member of the National Association for Change.

Khatib alleged that because Morsy appointed Qandil, the president shared equal blame for Qandil’s mistakes. Morsy had promised to solve traffic problems such as the one that led to the Assiut tragedy during his first 100 days in office, Khatib added.

Hossam Moness, a founding member of the Popular Current, said that sacking the minister of transportation is not enough and didn’t satisfy the citizens in Assiut.

Everyone in the government must be held to the same standards of accountability, Moness said, adding that after the revolution, the government must no longer resort to old regime tactics of sacking lesser employees as scapegoats while leaving major political figures beyond the reproach of the law.

Essam al-Sherif, the general coordinator for the Free Front for Peaceful Change, said that the front is prepared for the protest in Assiut. He added that they printed 8,000 flyers circulating across the governorate calling citizens for participation.

The Union of Revolutionary Youth has also announced its participation. Union spokesperson Amr Hamed said that they instructed all members on the governorates to participate.

The Karama Party also said it would participate. Mohamed Soliman, a party leader, said that they would demand retribution for martyrs, and hold officials accountable for their lost rights.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Interior Ministry: Activist disrupting checkpoint investigation

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November 1st, 2012

The Interior Ministry said Thursday that political activist Taqadom al-Khatib's delay in testifying to the police about the altercation between him and officers at a checkpoint in Qena was disrupting the investigation.

Khatib, a member of the National Association for Change, was arrested from a bus stopped at a checkpoint after an officer asked him for his ID in a manner the activist described as “inappropriate.”

When he refused to hand over his ID, Khatib was removed from the bus and taken to the police station. He claimed that the police threatened to fabricate charges that he was in possession of marijuana, then severely beat and verbally abused him.

A source at the Interior Ministry said an investigator called Khatib in to give his testimony on the incident but he declined to appear saying that he was fatigued and would have to travel a long distance to Luxor. 

Ministry officials agreed to question him at the Esna Police Station closer to his residence, the source added, but Khatib asked that the appointment be rescheduled for next week.

Khatib, a member of the fact-finding committee formed by President Mohamed Morsy to investigate arrests and violence during the transitional period, said in previous statements that he told the president's advisers he would sue the interior minister to refer the officer who assaulted him to discipline “until the state recognizes the revolution in Egypt against torture and the humiliation of citizens.”

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Activist falsely accused of drug possession released from custody

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October 26th, 2012

Political activist Taqadom al-Khatib was released from custody on Thursday night after being arrested early that morning on what he says are false charges of possessing hashish.

Khatib, a member of the National Association for Change, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he was on a bus trip to Esna to spend the Eid al-Adha holiday with his family. At 1 am on Thursday, the bus stopped at a checkpoint in Naqada in the Qena Governorate. A police officer asked for Khatib’s ID with an attitude that the activist described as “inappropriate.”

Khatib refused to hand over his ID card in protest against the Emergency Law that the 25 January revolution had tried to abolish.

The policeman allegedly replied, “The revolution is only on television, but not here,” Khatib claimed.

Khatib was then removed from the bus and taken to the police station. He claimed that the police threatened to fabricate charges that he was in possession of hash, then severely beat and verbally abused him.

Ahmed al-Barary, the activist’s attorney, said he filed charges against the two officers, accusing them of physically and verbally abusing his client.

 “The two police officers filed counter charges against Khatib, accusing him of attacking a public official while performing his work,” Barary said.

The lawyer claimed the two officers tried to convince Khatib to drop the charges but he refused. The charges have now been escalated to the public prosecutor and the interior and justice ministries.

Also on Thursday morning, a policeman stopped an activist at a checkpoint in Nasr City, Cairo, according to a statement issued by the Youth for Freedom and Justice Movement, of which the activist is a member.

The statement said that Popular Current member Khaled al-Sayed and youth activist Mina Coseman had an argument with police after an officer insisted on taking Sayed to the police station without cause. The statement added that the police filed false assault charges against the two activists.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Police arrest two activists from Nasr City checkpoint

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October 25th, 2012

A statement issued by the Youth for Freedom and Justice Movement on Thursday said a policeman at a checkpoint in Nasr City arrested one of its members, along with a member of the Popular Current's executive board, early in the morning. 



The statement said that Popular Current member Khaled al-Sayyed and youth activist Mina Coseman had an argument with police after one of the policemen insisted on taking Sayyed into the police station for no clear reason. The statement added that the police fabricated charges against the two activists, accusing them of assaulting the policemen. The two activists are currently detained at the Nasr City Public Prosecution.



The Popular Current condemned the alleged attack and called on its members to gather in front of the Nasr City Public Prosecution to push for Sayyed's release.



Also on Thursday, the National Association for Change said policemen from Qena attacked Ali Toqadom al-Khateeb, a member of the group's general secretariat and the presidential committee tasked with investigating the killing of protesters during the revolution.



In a statement, the NAC said two policemen boarded the bus Khateeb was taking from Cairo to Qena and arrested him.



The statement condemned the arrest and described it as a “barbaric incident” that shows that the behavior of the police has not changed despite the Interior Ministry’s claims to the contrary. The NAC said it retains the right to sue the officers in question.
 

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Four ex-members rejoin Constituent Assembly

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September 30th, 2012

Four former members of the Constituent Assembly have returned following the formation of an advisory technical committee.

Abdel Galil Mostafa, general coordinator for the National Association for Change; Gaber Gad Nassar, professor of constitutional law; Samir Morcos, a Coptic thinker and adviser to Morsy; and Souad Kamel Rezq had earlier resigned from the assembly. The advisory committee comprises 10 legal experts and well-known public figures.

In a statement, the four members said Saturday that the writing process for the constitution has reached a critical stage, and that they felt they should bow to popular will and return to the assembly to do their jobs for the country.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian National Coalition — which brings together several parties, currents and national figures including Mohamed ElBaradei and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi — issued a statement saying they were boycotting the assembly and would reject whatever came from it, describing its work as a “catastrophe.”



Constituent Assembly deputy Ayman Nour threatened to withdraw from the assembly over what he described as the mixing of religion with state affairs.



The Wafd Party, meanwhile, has decided to remain in the assembly.



Amr Moussa, a former presidential candidate and a member of the assembly, said there is an ongoing struggle between religious ideologues, who have a strong presence in the assembly, and those who want a civil state, whom he said voice strong opinions.



Presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali said on his Facebook page Saturday that President Mohamed Morsy will not interfere in the work of the assembly unless something comes up to prevent it from carrying out its function as stated in the Constitutional Declaration. He added that the differences between its members are normal.



Liberal and other parties complain about the Islamist majority in the assembly, while courts have been hearing a number of cases demanding the body's dissolution.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Tweet by Essam al-Erian provokes anger of leftists

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August 22nd, 2012

A post that Essam al-Erian, the acting president of the Freedom and Justice Party, made on Twitter in which he accused leftist parties of receiving funds from abroad, submitting to foreign powers and ignoring the role of religion in society has sparked an angry response on Facebook and Twitter.

Toqadom al-Khateeb, a member of the National Association for Change, called for Erian to be brought to trial for accusing the left of "defaming religion," adding that Erian's statements constitute a clear accusation of atheism and calling for the trial of that “ignorant liar.”

Leftist activist Wael Khalil said, "The problem is not with the opinion expressed by Erian. The problem is that his statement coincides with Brotherhood campaigns against Hamdeen Sabbahi and Mohamed ElBaradei — and now the left as well. There is a trend within the Brotherhood to attack other factions, which is not good."

Wael Gamal, a journalist, wondered what benefit the Brotherhood would reap from Erian's statements, particularly since his statements criticize a faction that belongs to the revolution.

Haitham Mohammadein, a socialist leader, called on citizens to take to the streets on Wednesday to reject the IMF's envoy's visit to Egypt and Erian's statements.

"You should be the last one to talk about foreign influence and funding," he said, addressing Erian.

Erian had tweeted, " Foreign influence and funding, security fears, disintegration, disregard of the role of religion, even regarding religion with contempt, elitism and haughtiness are among the main reasons for the failure of the left."

Erian added that the experiences of other nations may not be reproduced in other environments, particularly when they are pitted against cultures as strong as the Islamic one, and called on Arab leftists to examine the reasons why the leftist and communist movements in the Arab world have failed.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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