Khaled Ali, the head of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, has warned Intelligence Chief Mourad Mouafi of plans adopted by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to stay in power indefinitely.
At a meeting with several activists on Wednesday, Ali said the government and the SCAF seem to have gone back on promises to hand over power to an elected civilian power.
Participants in the meeting also criticized the renewed Emergency Law and ban on labor strikes and called for pardoning all political activists referred for military trials.
Ahmed Saif al-Islam Hamad, the head of Hesham Mubarak Law Center and Baheiddin Hassan, the head of the Cairo Center for Human Rights Studies and other activists were present at the meeting.
Participants in the meeting also warned against the ongoing chaos, which they said was intentional. They also said that officials in charge of the country have a historic responsibility to avoid creating divisions among Egyptians.
“The SCAF’s policies are dangerous whether it wants to stay in power or to seize power following elections, particularly since there are several presidential candidates who belong to the military institution, including Magdi Hatata, Ahmed Shafiq and Mohamed Ali Belal…,” Ali said.
Ali added that he presented several proposals to improve the economic conditions of workers in the public and private sectors, including the setting of minimum and maximum wages and the quick implementation of judicial ruling ordering the return of some companies to the ownership of the state. He also called for expediting investigations concerning the sale of state assets and scrapping the insurance and pensions law issued under former Finance Minister Youssef-Boutros Ghali, which is due to come into force in January.
He added that the new judicial authority law should be approved by the Supreme Judicial Council without any intervention by the SCAF. He also called for removing the attorney general and interior minister for failing to restore security to the country.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
