Egypt's National Security Agency (NSA) has not interfered to cancel a forum on parliamentary elections scheduled for Monday at Ain Shams University, a security source has said. In statements cited by MENA, the same source said the NSA does not interfere in university affairs in general. Minister of Interior Mansour al-Essawy in March decided to dismantle the notorious State Security Investigations Service (SSIS) and replace it with the current NSA, claiming that the new body would not interfere in political matters. Observers claim that only the name of the SSIS has changed, and that its new incarnation continues to penetrate all aspects of political life. Mostafa Fouad, a student and member of the campaign in support of Mohamed ElBaradei's presidential candidacy, said members of the campaign at the Faculty of Commerce are planning to hold several political seminars on parliamentary and presidential elections. In statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Fouad said the acting dean told them that the seminar was called off because regulations prohibit political activity at the university. However, he approved the seminar under pressure from students and the media, Fouad added. "The seminar will be held on its scheduled date on Monday," he said. Mohamed Tareq, secretary for the Union of Commerce Students, said seminars on presidential elections are for ElBaradei as well as other presidential candidates, such as Hamdeen Sabbahi, Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh. Tareq added that the NSA has not interfered to cancel the seminars, and added that the problem was with agreeing on dates. Ahmed Amer, the acting dean for the Faculty of Commerce, said the faculty's administration has not canceled any seminars and denied any intervention on the part of the NSA. Amer added that the organization of seminars and other on-campus activities is restricted to student unions and student societies. He added that he has not signed any documents to ban any activity.
