| 06 Mar 2010 |
|
Mubarak breaks silenceon divisive Al Baradei
- Text size
Saturday, Mar 06, 2010
Gulf News
Cairo In his first comment on a potential bid for presidency by Egypt's Nobel laureate Mohammad Al Baradei, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said that there are no curbs on the ex-chief of the UN nuclear watchdog's engagement in the nation's political life.
"But he has to do this in line with the constitution and join any political party he chooses," Egyptian newspapers yesterday quoted Mubarak as saying at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
Asked by a German reporter on Thursday if Egyptians are treating Al Baradei as a national hero, Mubarak said: "Egypt does not need a national hero because the Egyptians people are the real national heroes."
Hero's welcome
Al Baradei, 67, returned to Egypt on February 19 where he received a hero's welcome from reformists. Days later, he launched a coalition for change composed of 30 activists across Egypt's political spectrum.
Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981, has yet to say if he will seek a sixth term when his current tenure ends next year.
Under Egypt's current constitution, presidential hopefuls have to be leading members of political parties, which have been in existence for at least five years. Independent contenders like Al Baradei have to be endorsed by at least 250 members of the parliament and local councils dominated by Mubarak's National Democratic Party. Al Baradei has already said he will not join any political party, and is pushing for removing constitutional restrictions on independent candidates for presidency.
Rally
The trial, which was postponed until March 30 when Al Baradei returns home from an overseas tour, was held at a rally with anti-Al Baradei banners reading: "No to presidential nominees supported by the US and Israel".
"The media hype, which accompanied Al Baradei's homecoming, falsely portrayed him as having a magic wand," said Sami Hejazi, the chairman of the Umma (Nation) Party, another member of the alliance.
"He is the product of a Zionist, US hands."
Opponents to Al Baradei at the trial accuse him of inciting the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and turning a blind eye to Israel's suspicious nuclear programme. He is also accused of fomenting political instability in Egypt. "Al Baradei was invited to show up at the trial to defend himself. But he did not attend and left for abroad because he knows that his stance is weak and that he has nothing but empty slogans," said Ahmad Jebeili, the chairman of the Democratic People's Party.
By Ramadan Al Sherbini
© Gulf News 2010. All rights reserved.
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Loading ...
Post a Comment
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.