CAIRO: Egypt nominated a former aide to its ousted president as its candidate for Secretary General of the Arab League on Tuesday. Mostafa al-Fiqqi was the head of the Arab Affairs Committee of the Shura Council, the upper house of the Egyptian Parliament, and a former representative to the Arab League in addition to being a close associate of former President Hosni Mubarak. If accepted, al-Fiqqi, would replace the outgoing Egyptian Secretary General Amr Moussa, whose term ends in the middle of May. Egypt's minister of foreign affairs, Nabil el-Arabi, voiced confidence in al-Fiqqi's ability to fill the post because of his previous experiences as assistant foreign minister for Arab affairs, Arab League delegate, and deputy chairman of the Arab Parliament, besides being known for his writings on Arab Nationalism. El-Arabi said in a statement, “al-Fiqqi's diplomatic career makes him the most suitable for the post at this sensitive time in the Arab League's history.” Amr Moussa who has held the post since 2001, announced his resignation on Feb. 11, the same day Egypt's former president stepped down, and later declared his intention to nominate himself for Egypt's presidency. Al-Fiqqi, 66, also worked as Mubarak`s Information Secretary from 1985 to 1992 and acted as Egypt's permanent representative to the Arab League. He resigned from the National Democratic Party one week before Mubarak's ouster. Last Tuesday, Qatar announced its own nominee for the top Arab League position: Diplomat Abdul Rahman al-Attiya, former head of the Gulf Coordination Council. An Egyptian has held the post since the Arab League was established in 1945, except when it was expelled from the league in 1979 after signing a peace treaty with Israel. Then, the post was held by a Tunisian. On Tuesday, the April 6 Youth Movement issued a statement expressing its rejection of al-Fiqqi's nomination for the position. The group accused al-Fiqqi of serving the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak. “We do not accept that the government, which represents the revolution, would nominate a person who served the corrupt regime for years and worked on improving its image through promoting it on political, cultural, and media levels,” the group said in a statement quoted by the DPA. Egypt has many other suitable candidates who could replace Moussa, said the group. It added that Egypt's candidate should represent the revolution rather than the former regime. The group urged Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces to reconsider the nomination. BM
