In a statement issued yesterday, Mohamed ElBaradei, former International Atomic Energy Agency chief and potential candidate in the 2011 presdiential election, has urged all of Egypt's workers to join his pro-reform coalition, the National Association for Change (NAC), to support freedom and social justice. "Join it now, for we can only introduce change together," ElBaradei said. He added that Egypt's workers have always demanded their rights and defended them using peaceful and effective means. "It comes as no surprise that workers are leading the calls for a minimum wage," he said. ElBaradei also stated that the Administrative Court's 1 April decision obliging the government to set a minimum wage has rectified the situation. "It is illogical to see real wages drop considerably without reconsidering the minimum wage, such that 42 percent of Egyptians currently live below the poverty line," he said. "And yet that ruling hasn't been implemented." "We call for political reform and the abolition of the emergency law and all freedom-restricting legislation in order to uphold citizens' abilities to defend their rights using all the means guaranteed by the Constitution and international charters," he continued, "and to restore the state of law where the government cannot avoid implementing judicial rulings." Meanwhile, Shahenda Maqlad, wife of the late Salah Hussein who led the farmers' revolt against large landowners in his village in the 1960s, announced two days ago that a large number of farmers in the village have joined the NAC. The statements came during a ceremony held in Hussein's home village in Monufiya to mark the 44th anniversary of his death. "Egypt is on the verge of collapse...corruption and tyranny are rampant," Maqlad contiued. In related news, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said that Egyptians are now able to "smell change" and added that the Egyptian opposition is pinning its hopes on ElBaradei to lead the upcoming presidential election. ElBaradei is "untainted by the corruption" within Cairo's ruling elite, said BBC's Christian Fraser who added that ElBaradei is capable of bringing about major political change. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
