Thousands of members of the Muslim Brotherhood greeted Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, during his tour of the Governorate of Fayoum on Friday. After performing the afternoon prayer in the Mubarak Mosque in the city of Sanurus, he was greeted by supporters who chanted slogans supporting the independent presidential candidate, surrounding him in the streets of the city to form a procession. Meanwhile, members of the National Association for Change (NAC) in Fayoum decided to boycott ElBaradei's visit to protest his failure to follow the schedule they prepared for him. ElBaradei referred to the boycott saying, "this is for them to decide but it is enough for me that thousands of Fayoum's residents came out to greet me." He noted that his relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood was centered on one point of agreement, the desire for change. He emphasized that the Brotherhood was a part of the Egyptian people, complete with their own demands even if he did not agree with all of them. ElBaradei, speaking in a public conference on Rey Street in Sanurus, said, "The Egyptian people, for all their differences, are one people, and we peacefully demand change so we can reclaim our role." He stated that democracy is at odds with arbitrary detention under the pretext of the Emergency Law, and that it meant freedom of opinion, expression and belief. He continued, noting that democracy had no relation to the arrest of a group of young people in Daqhalia due to their participation in a campaign to collect petition signatures or to the arrest of the doctor Taha Abdel Tuwab in Fayoum. Social justice is the key to building a better order, he emphasized. ElBaradei called upon those present to sign the petition distributed to the crowd by his aides, emphasizing that if millions united and "signed the petition, no regime will be able to oppose the people's desire for change.” “There is nothing to fear,” he added. ElBaradei held a press conference at the house of Doctor Taha Abdel Tuwab, who had previously been tortured by State Security because of his support for ElBaradei. Talking about the National Association for Change, ElBaradei noted that it "could not be reduced to any one person. It is open to all Egyptians regardless of whether someone agrees or disagrees with my opinions." Referring to Hasan Nafaa, coordinator of the Future Society, ElBaradei said, "I appreciate his work even if we disagree over the way to go about things.” He confirmed that he will travel abroad to previously scheduled engagements and will meet the Egyptian expatriate communities in the countries he visits. He denied that he is seeking support from outside powers, saying this was an insult to the Egyptian people. “From today, I am betting on the youth, because the majority of Egyptians are in their youth," said ElBaradei, referencing the arrest of the student Tareq Khadar weeks ago under emergency law. His location remains unknown. Responding to a question about what will happen after the petition signatures are collected, ElBaradei said, "I won't nominate myself if the seventh demand in the petition is not met." Regarding the Shura Council elections, ElBaradei stressed that they were not credible or transparent, and that the People's Assembly elections would be conducted in a similar manner. According to ElBaradei, unless real measures are put in place to guarantee their fairness, the upcoming 2011 presidential elections would also be fraudulent. Commenting on the events in the Occupied Territories, and the recent Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla, ElBaradei stressed that what occurred was an affront to every Egyptian and every Arab, and that Arabs needed to stand side-by-side in solidarity. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
