CAIRO: Some dozen activists, representatives of political movements and opposition leaders gathered at a press conference Thursday to voice their rejection to the ruling regime and to the next annual conference of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). The meeting was held at the Nasserist El-Karama party premises in Mounira. Outspoken journalist and co-founder of Egyptian Movement for Change (Kefaya) Abdel-Halim Kandil called for forming a brave coalition of civil organizations, activists, citizens and political leaders to demand President Hosni Mubarak's resignation. Egypt should then go through a two-year transitional stage where a neutral judge runs the country following a transparent program, he said. We don t introduce ourselves as alternatives to Mubarak and his regime. We call on the people to rule their homeland themselves and restore their rights from the ruling gang, he added. The proposed program highlights the need to end the state of emergency, free all political prisoners and compensate the randomly detained citizens for their suffering. It also stipulates full independence of the judiciary, holding public trials for those responsible for corruption and conducting three public referendums about canceling the peace treaty with Israel, privatization and USAID. Economically, the program suggests using foreign currency reserves in public investments to combat unemployment and achieving self-sufficiency of wheat. Finally, the program proposes a new constitution to be formed during the planned transitional phase. The April 6 youth movement stated the reasons for rejecting the ruling party and the regime. The problem of my generation is that it has never experienced a different regime, unlike the rest of the world where there is constant change even in some developing countries, 22-year-old Mohamed Abdel-Aziz said. The NDP has been distorting the sense of identity of Egyptian youth through unemployment and the lack of equal opportunities, he added. The opposition leaders believe that the NDP is responsible for the deterioration in Egyptian society for the past 35 years since the October War in 1973. According to the NDP s official website, President Hosni Mubarak is expected to demonstrate at the party's annual conference which begins on Nov. 1, his views on all issues, especially the global financial crisis and its impact on the national economy. Opposition parties and movements will hold a protest Saturday afternoon outside the Supreme Court in downtown Cairo to protest the NDP conference.
