CAIRO: Mahmoud Ezzat, Secretary-General of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), has denied reports that the banned, but tolerated Islamist group convened to establish an official political following President Mubarak's announced plans to amend the constitution. As far as I know no such meeting took place and no action or decisions were taken concerning Al-Azhar University [demonstrations] or the constitutional amendments, Ezzat said in a phone interview with The Daily Star Egypt. The real news is that 20 members of the group were arrested today after dawn [Jan. 2, 2007], nine from Sharqia, eight from Gharbiya and two from Mansourah, he said. The 20 detainees were allegedly dragged out of their homes after returning from a nearby mosque to perform the dawn prayer during the fourth day of Eid Al-Adha. Ezzat insisted the group did not officially announce any plans to become a licensed political party. He said: Some members of the People's Assembly from the group spoke about that issue but no official steps have been taken. Ezzat explained that the MB had been demanding official party status for thirty years and still continue to do so to no avail. His statements came following reports last week that the group had held a press conference on Dec. 27 announcing their pursuit of licensing as an official political party. It is the right for all political parties and powers to create official parties, said Gamal Eid, president of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. Not only should the MB have a political party, but also any other religion or ideology should have the same space to build its own party, Eid added. Yes, sure and why not, said Gamal El Bana, an Islamic intellectual and writer, and Copts should make one too, he added. If Egyptians want to set up a political party in Egypt, no one should stop them. I am with freedom and democracy all the way and I see the freedom of creating a political party a holy thing, El Bana added. But Ezzat believes the political parties committee, entrusted with issuing licenses for legalization of new parties is an obstacle towards a multi-party environment. "The new the political parties committee, which I call the 'anti new parties committee' will make sure that nothing will ever change, Ezzat said.
