Last week a group of Muslim Brotherhood members abroad and their allies announced a new initiative — they dubbed it a “charter of principles” — which they claim will bring the democratisation process back on track and promote the principles, goals and gains of the 25 January Revolution. But can the initiative have any impact on Egypt's political future? The charter was unveiled in Brussels, capital of the EU. Among its signatories were Mohamed Mahsoub, Vice President of the Wasat (Centre) Party and minister of legal affairs under former president Mohamed Morsi; Hatem Azzam, Wasat Party Vice President for Foreign Relations; Ayman Nour, Founder of Ghad Al-Thawra (Tomorrow of the Revolution) Party; Yehia Hamed, an official of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, and minister of investment under Morsi; Mustafa Ibrahim, a Muslim Brotherhood member residing abroad; Tharwat Nafie, university professor; Wael Qandil, former spokesman for the National Society for Change and Maha Azzam, political activist and coordinator of the Coalition of Democratic Egyptians in the UK. As reported in the media, the charter stated: “Toward the realisation of the goals for which the martyrs sacrificed their lives; In continuation of the firm revolutionary steadfastness and creative peaceful movement that has persisted for ten months since the military coup; On the basis of the struggle of the revolutionary movements from 25 January until now; In pursuit of the declaration of a comprehensive political project that clarifies a phase that will follow the end of the terrorist coup and the elimination of the military dictatorship regime, and that will allow all to participate in the successful management of transitional stages shaped by sound and sturdy, contractual and consensual foundations, and by an appropriate agenda for each stage, thereby laying the foundations for a political, social and popular participatory period in which all Egyptians stand united, in which the lessons and experiences of the past are observed, and in which desired guarantees are devised, whether for the implementation of measures or for resolution of differences, should they exist; And out of our belief in all the forgoing, the signatories hereby declare the following ten principles: 1. The creation of a pluralist participatory administration with a consensual spirit for which the appropriate mechanisms are devised by the political trends within a framework founded on the principles of democracy and political participation and with the purpose of ending the effects of the military coup, reviving the 25 January Revolution and resuming the democratisation process. 2. The return of the army to the barracks and its dedication to its sacred duty, which is to protect the country's borders and defend the nation, while adhering to full neutrality and total military discipline in the performance of its duties, free from any political bias in favour of any group or party. 3. The development of a comprehensive strategy for transitional justice based on all measures to promote openness, truth-finding, social reconciliation, just punishment, the rapid fulfilment of the rights of the dead and wounded and imprisoned, and all other steps needed to promptly and effectively attain the cause of justice. 4. The realisation of social justice, safeguarding the rights of the poor and toiling people and workers and marginalised classes above all, and the elimination of social injustice through an economic programme that achieves comprehensive development of the Egyptian people as a whole. 5. The empowerment of youth and women to enable them to exercise roles of effective leadership, commensurate with the role they played at the vanguard of the revolution, through real policies that make this possible within the framework of comprehensive strategies and clear mechanisms. 6. Guarantees for public rights and freedoms and the pursuit of the realisation of a state that upholds justice, the rule of law, the principle of citizenship and human dignity. 7. Collaboration in the design of just and comprehensive radical reform of the institutions of the corrupt deep state, which process shall rest on prioritising support for honourable, skilled and experienced members of the institutions so as to secure the efficacy and gains of the 25 January revolution; restructuring these institutions on sound foundations with participation from all and hiring of qualified personnel without any form of discrimination or exclusion. 8. The revitalisation of civil society and its liberation from subordination to the executive authority so as to enable it to perform its pioneering role as an engine of development and progress. 9. Prioritisation to the highest degree of human security, the elimination of corruption and restitution to the people of their plundered wealth at home and abroad. 10. The establishment of complete national independence for Egypt, the rejection of dependency and the stimulation of Egypt's regional and international role on the basis of mutual respect, non-intervention in the domestic affairs of others, and the preservation of mutual interests. For the sake of Egypt and its free revolutionary people, for the sake of her present and her future, we hereby call on the free people of Egypt to unite with us in undertaking the historic responsibility to surpass this critical phase, to support these principles and to resume dialogue toward the creation of mechanisms for implementation.” Observers agree the charter, which was drawn up and declared in the EU capital, is intended for Western consumption. They observe that its terms are loose and in substance it offers nothing new. It offers no real solutions to the process that the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies refer to as the “military coup”, at a time when presidential polls are due to open abroad on 15 May and at home on 26 May. The charter is also a tacit admission on the part of the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy of the collapse of the legitimacy of deposed president Mohamed Morsi, for which reason it draws on the period prior to his rule, i.e. the January Revolution. One political source, who spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly on condition of anonymity, argued the release of the charter abroad by individuals affiliated with the Islamist current “reduces its chances of success, especially given the vicious media campaign targeting this trend, accusing it of terrorism and portraying all its initiatives as attempts to obstruct the democratic course”. The source added that the charter “could be the beginning of the unification of forces whose mistakes helped precipitate the coup, in spite of the reservations surrounding it”. Muslim Brotherhood preacher Yousef Al-Qaradawi, President of the International Federation of Muslim Ulema, announced his support for what he called the “charter of principles to revive the 25 January Revolution”. In a statement issued on Saturday he said: “I have read the document of principles for reviving the January Revolution, which brought an end to the rule of former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011. This document was announced by revolutionary and political forces in order to promote the revival of the January Revolution which the Egyptian people unanimously supported, and to bring the democratisation process back on its proper track.” Tarek Al-Zomor, Chairman of the Construction and Development Party, the political wing of the Gamaa Al-Islamiya, described the Brussels charter as “a sincere patriotic call that no one who is keen to preserve the January Revolution can refuse”. Construction and Development Party Secretary-General Alaa Abul-Nasr described the charter as “good”. He added, in a statement to the press, that it could serve as “a basis to form a front or a new alliance to confront the coup led by former defence minister Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, especially since the charter addresses forces that truly believe in the revolution as opposed to forces that pretend to be revolutionary whereas in fact they are part of the regime of the deposed president Hosni Mubarak and of the Al-Sisi coup”. The recently banned 6 April Movement said it was studying the document, the aims of which it described as “noble”, but added it has some reservations though no details were forthcoming. Mohamed Atiya, a member of the Revolutionary Forces Alliance which supports Al-Sisi, suggested the charter was well past its sell-by date. “As Al-Sisi has said, time does not go backwards,” pointed out Atiya. “The charter is nothing but a new attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been banned by the people, to obstruct the democratic course Egypt has taken.” “It is an indirect invitation to reconcile with a group that still uses violence as a means to impose its conditions on the Egyptian people. As such it cannot serve as a basis for national reunification. The document, said Atiya, fails to take into account the domestic situation in Egypt and the violence in the streets. Any workable document needs to focus on “how to find a way everyone can confront terrorism and sit down together around the dialogue table in a manner that ensures the realisation of a state founded on justice and the rule of law, without any side forcing its conditions on the other”. The Al-Nour Party, which says the Brussels charter is far too late, predicts it will trigger considerable disruption in the pro-Muslim Brotherhood alliance. Many politicians and analysts view the charter as a futile attempt to breathe life into the Muslim Brotherhood corpse. Muslim Brotherhood supporters, on the other hand, hope it has the power to rally revolutionary forces in the run-up to the presidential elections, the second major juncture of the roadmap. Those hopes are likely to prove hopelessly misplaced.
