Mohamed ElBaradei, former president of the International Atomic Energy Agency and possible candidate in Egypt’s 2011 presidential elections, departed for Vienna on Sunday, leaving Egypt bustling with political activity that was catalyzed by his arrival on 19 February. ElBaradei will visit a number of foreign capitals over the coming months.
Hassan Nafaa, coordinator of the National Association for Change, said that ElBaradei has put in place the main guidelines for the performance of the association, according to what was agreed on through the discussions of its members. He said only some "final touches" remain concerning the regulation of public participation.
Abdel Rahman Youssef, rapporteur for the Popular Campaign to Support the Nomination of ElBaradei for the Presidential Election, said that his group would launch a new campaign on Facebook titled "Support the campaign from your home." The campaign will suggest ideas like printing posters of ElBaradei or distributing T-shirts with his photo, Youssef said.
In related news, Ahmed Hassan, secretary of the Nasserist Party, said that Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour, secretary of the Wafd Party, has entrusted him with organizing a conference on constitutional amendments organized by the Coalition of Opposition Parties–consisting of Wafd, Tagammu, the Nasserist Party and the Democratic Front. According to Abdel Nour–who is also sending out the invitations for the conference–the parties did not object except to the invitation extended to ElBaradei.
Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said he was disappointed at the criticism leveled at him for receiving ElBaradei in his office last week. In an interview with BBC, Moussa said that interpreting his reception of ElBaradei as an endorsement for the presidency and as a form of intervention in the internal affairs of a member state of the Arab League was "weird."
"I’m an Egyptian citizen who must be interested in the affairs of his country and follow them closely," Moussa said, adding that Egypt is experiencing unprecedented political dialogue that nobody can afford to ignore.
The 6 April Youth Movement invited ElBaradei, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other opposition members to attend a conference titled "We will change the constitution and fix the road" scheduled for the end of March.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
