In an interview published on Saturday in an Italian newspaper, Mohamed ElBaradei, former chief of the International Atomic energy Agency (IAEA) said “Egypt is not going to move backwards again.”
ElBaradei, a potential presidential candidate, told La Reppublica that Egyptians are ready to go back to the streets if necessary, and the military will not take power again.
He said Hosni Mubarak should have faced trail along with 300 of his regime two months ago, as the ousted president has had time to hide much of his wealth around the world.
The present interim stage is critical for Egypt, he said, adding that Egyptians feared that the ousted regime made a deal with the currently ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to prevent Mubarak’s trial.
Asked about his presidential candidacy, ElBaradei said if he runs it will only be for the sake of the Egyptian youth with whom he has worked over the past months and who have asked his help to rebuild Egypt.
ElBaradei, meanwhile, announced the launch of his book “The Era of Betrayal” towards the end of April. The book, published by a British publisher, discusses ElBaradei’s mandate at the IAEA from 1997 to 2007.
In his book, ElBaradei reveals secrets about the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the reality about the reports he submitted while in his position as IAEA chief, which some have said were used by the US to justify its invasion of Iraq. He also discusses the alleged Libyan nuclear program and his impression of Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi.
Members of ElBaradei’s presidential campaign have opened an office at Alexandria University’s Faculty of Medicine and distributed questionnaires to discover the opinion the students have of ElBaradei.
They distributed leaflets to disprove accusations regarding his positions on relations with Israel, Iran, the US invasion of Iraq and the nature of the state he wants to establish.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
