São Paulo – The drafting of a constitution which meets the demands of the various segments of Egyptian society is the big challenge facing the country after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, according to Mohamed ElBaradei, one of the Egypt’s leading political names. Mubarak was ousted as a result of popular uprisings which led thousands of people to Cairo’s Tahrir Square, in 2011, a movement that became known as the “Arab Spring” and took place in North Africa and Middle East countries.
ElBaradei, the former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and winner of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, is now in Brazil to participate in lecture cycle Frontiers of Thought, in São Paulo and Porto Alegre. This Monday (29th), he gave a press conference at a shopping mall in São Paulo, where he spoke on democracy in Egypt, the conflicts in Syria, and the nuclear issue in Iran.
“The constitution is our main struggle,” he said. According to him, the text currently being drafted does not encompass the rights of young people, of the Christians, and the women. “There are very uncomfortable things [in the Constitution draft], which cause many people, such as myself, to not feel comfortable,” he said. “The constitution is the basic law; it is something which cannot compromise human freedom, dignity, and equality,” he says.
Regarding the possibility of the sharia [Muslim law] having a strong influence on the country’s Constitution, Baradei says some of the former’s principles do not differ much from those contained in the Declaration of Human Rights. “Equality and justice are the cornerstones of Islam. There are many different takes on the sharia, and hence this clash of opinions,” he says. “The hope expressed by the Arab Spring must be protected by all. The Muslim Brotherhood has a vision which needs not be shared by all people,” he says of the group to which the current Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi belongs.
Baradei stated that at present, 37% of Egypt’s population is illiterate, and nearly half have no access to healthcare. “We must assure these basic rights. We are not at a level in which to have a centre-right wing or a centre-left wing. We need to tend to healthcare, education and infrastructure. Unfortunately, the transition was terrible, totally confused. We still haven’t harvested the fruits of the revolution, such as employment. There is still much work to do.”
Despite having founded a new political party in April this year, the Constitution Party, he says he will not run for president in the next elections. “I believe I am more effective when working on the outside, having opportunities such as this one, of coming to Brazil. I think we need a new generation [in politics]. I can act as a godfather, but from the outside,” he says. He went so far as to become a candidate in the last Egyptian elections, but withdrew later on claims that there was no real democracy in Egypt.
Baradei bets that the young people who promoted the Egyptian revolution via the internet are the country’s political future. “They are not married to any particular ideology. They want jobs, opportunities. They feel that their future is under arrest, that the preceding generation has been corrupted. [The youth] had no plan B to the downfall of the former government. What they are trying to do now is to come together in a political party. I hope to work with them, to empower them. These kids have never practised democracy, they don’t know how democracy works,” he said. He believes it will “still take some time” before there is a full democracy in Egypt.
Syria, Iran and Brazil
Baradei also discussed other Middle Eastern issues. “We cannot accept the Syrian situation. We must make sure that the killing stops,” he said. “There must be a United Nations operation involving neighbouring countries. We can’t just say it is a terrible situation and leave it at that. The Western countries do not want to send forces in. sadly, Syria has become a battlefield for ideological forces,” he regretted.
Regarding Iran and its being accused by the United States of having nuclear weapons, Baradei said he believes there will be no military intervention. “I see no reason for it. I think it would be a total disaster, just like in Iraq, where thousands of civilians were sacrificed,” he said.
To him, there is a specific issue between Iran and the United States, and there will be no solution unless the two countries talk to one another. “The sanctions are not the solution. Sanctions alone have never solved anything. A while ago, we almost reached a solution between [United States president Barack] Obama and [Iranian president Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, but domestic issues of Iran have interfered, and there was also interference from Brazil and Turkey,” he said, referring to the Brazilian and Turkish governments’ attempts at negotiating the Iranian nuclear issue in 2010.
Baradei, however, did not express opposition to Brazil’s playing a stronger role internationally, including Middle East affairs. “Brazil has become a major economy power. I would like to hear more from the Southern countries because they always have a different view. We need these countries’ views on what poverty means. You cannot have just one approach [to international problems]. We want to see the South do more than just complain about being treated differently. If you look at the UN Security Council, you will see that it is dominated by Western countries, then you have China and Russia to balance things out, but the South is absent,” he said.
Baradei’s schedule does not include a meeting with president Dilma Rousseff, but he says he would meet her “if the opportunity came up.” The Egyptian will give lectures in São Paulo on Tuesday (30th) and O egípcio realiza palestra na terça-feira (30) and in Porto Alegre on Wednesday (31st). He will remain in the country until Friday (2nd), but has no other official appointments on schedule.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
