CAIRO: Following an attack on prominent Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei during last week's referendum, some ElBaradei supporters organized a march to deliver a thank-you message to ElBaradei. His supporters apologized for what happened, saying some people could not distinguish between their right to express their views and not violating those rights or the rights of others. ElBaradei is the leader of the National Association for Change and was formerly the head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. He has announced his intention to run in Egypt's presidential elections. The group who threw stones at his car during the March 19 referendum were chanting, “We don't want you!” The march was organized to honor ElBaradei for his part in sparking the Egyptian Revolution and to apologize for the mob's attack, but it did not go as planned. A group supporting Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa for president responded with an anti-ElBaradei protest. The two groups clashed over the issue, and the Egyptian army was forced to step in to disperse the situation. The incident renewed the debate over ElBaradei's status as a public figure and presidential candidate, and renewed the criticism of his opponents, who have accused ElBaradei of being an agent for the United States. Some have also claimed that his loyalty to Egypt is ambiguous, and blamed him for opening the door for the U.S. invasion of Iraq during his term as head of the IAEA. However, ElBaradei stood firmly against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. At a United Nations meeting on January 27, 2003, he said, “The presence of international detectors in Iraq today continues to serve as an effective deterrent to and insurance against resumption of programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, even as we continue to look for possible past activities.” He also said, “We have to date found no evidence that Iraq has revived its nuclear weapons program since the elimination of the program in the 1990s. However, our work is steadily progressing and should be allowed to run its natural course. With our verification system now in place, barring exceptional circumstances, and provided there is sustained proactive cooperation by Iraq, we should be able within the next few months to provide credible assurance that Iraq has no nuclear weapons program.” BM
