Brotherhood MPs ready big guns

By Omayma Abdel-Latif
The 17 People's Assembly deputies from the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood are preparing a response to the government's policy statement -- a move which is likely, in the view of many observers, to put the Brothers on a collision course with the government once again.
Brotherhood sources confirmed press reports circulating since the beginning of the week that their MPs are preparing what they described as "a critique" of the major political and economic issues addressed in the government's policy statement which was delivered by Prime Minister Atef Ebeid last month. "The statement will deal primarily with pressing political issues as well as outlining the Brotherhood's vision and strategy for improving socio-economic conditions," Mohamed El-Mursi, the Brotherhood's assembly spokesman, told Al-Ahram Weekly.
Brotherhood sources described the group's planned "critique" as part of an effort to make use of their presence in parliament as the largest opposition group. But, as some analysts noted, the Brotherhood's record as an opposition movement inside the assembly has never been impressive.
Their performance in the parliaments of 1984 and 1987, left much to be desired, observers say. And for the 1987, this is particularly striking as Brotherhood MPs were part of a 37-member bloc through an alliance with the Labour Party.
Brotherhood assembly sources say, however, that this time they are intent on acting as a "serious opposition bloc" and becoming heavily engaged in formulating policies. To translate this orientation into action, they have bombarded the assembly with more than 100 "requests for information" and several interpellations (questions that must be answered by cabinet ministers) since parliament convened about a month ago.
The government's policy statement, in the view of a number of analysts, comprised many vaguely worded promises for modernising the nation's industry, educational institutions and research centres. The bulk of the statement was devoted to addressing the worsening economic situation.
One observer noted that by putting forward their "vision of government," the Brotherhood is trying to project an image of itself as the alternative to the status quo. Such a move is likely to worsen an already sour relationship between the organisation and the state.
But Brotherhood sources insisted they were not out to arouse the government's ire. Instead, they say, they are simply fulfilling their parliamentary role. "We are merely analysing the government's statement -- we aren't trying to provoke the government. We are doing our job as MPs and discussing issues that were marginalised in the government's statement, such as foreign policy, including the peace process with Israel which needs an overall assessment, and issues of national security and defence," said El-Mursi.
One reason the Brotherhood decided to prepare an alternative platform was that "the government's policy statement neglected important issues," according to a Brotherhood source. "It made no mention of political reform, which is a major concern not only for the Brotherhood but also for all other political forces," said Gamal Heshmat a Brotherhood MP. Heshmat recently caused a stir when he raised the issue in parliament of the appropriateness of the Ministry of Culture's publication of three novels containing sexually explicit material. These books were subsequently banned.
A major part of the Brotherhood's statement will deal with issues of democratisation; specifically, the rotation of power among political parties and the need to lift all freedom-restricting laws including both the emergency and anti-terrorism laws. "The backbone of economic development," says Heshmat, "is the political climate in which this development takes place. And the current climate does not bode well. There has to be greater political freedom."
Also high on the Brotherhood agenda are issues related to modernising the educational system and addressing the "remarkable failure" of the government's economic policies. Both Heshmat and El-Mursi dismissed the claim that the Brotherhood's main concerns are cultural issues and issues related to freedom of expression. "We are concerned with all issues, not just culture, but some topics have priority and these include education, culture and the mass media," El-Mursi explained.
But what are Brotherhood MPs basing their "proper solutions" on? Both El-Mursi and Heshmat say that Shari'a and works of Islamic jurisprudence are the sources of their organisation's platform. But talk of "Islamic solutions" and "looking at the issues from an Islamic perspective" raise more questions than answers for many people.
Opponents of the Brotherhood have always accused them of lacking a clear-cut vision and a definite plan of action. Sources from the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) said the Brotherhood is "hiding behind slogans of a religious nature, and their solutions are rather Utopian." Mohamed Moussa, the head of the assembly's Legislative Committee and an NDP member, although not denying the Brotherhood the right to criticise the government's policies, said that the government should be given a chance to deliver on its promises. "They cannot possibly claim that there are Islamic solutions to Egypt's problems because that implies that the solutions we are introducing are non-Islamic. In politics, one does not use such binary categories," Moussa said.
One of the main legal obstacles the Brotherhood deputies are likely to confront if they seek to present their statement is that they are not allowed to act as a parliamentary bloc. El-Mursi said that the Brotherhood will present the statement as the work of a parliamentary bloc -- providing that the speaker of the assembly allows this. However, Brotherhood MPs are not pinning hopes on the speaker's consent. Since the government does not officially recognise them as a group, the Brotherhood cannot act as a bloc in parliament because they were elected as independent individuals.
If the assembly turns down their request to act as a bloc, Heshmat said, "work will be divided amongst us and every Brotherhood MP will be assigned a file to deal with."
The discussions of the government's statement will take place in the coming few weeks against the backdrop of an opposition which is far from united. According to both Heshmat and El- Mursi, the Brotherhood has not coordinated with other opposition forces in the assembly about responding to the government's policy statement.
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