CAIRO: Prominent Muslim Brotherhood (MB) leader Essam El-Erian believes that the crackdown on the group's members is unfounded. “It is not because they broke the law, at all; we are working peacefully,” El-Erian told Daily News Egypt. “We are prominent figures of society: doctors, engineers, professors, [and] businessmen … are not criminals. It's due to the fact that we are [strong] opponents … [of] the regime [that we] keep gaining the support of the public.” El-Erian said that the government's crackdown on the MB prior to the upcoming parliamentary elections on Nov. 28 has escalated, increasing the severity of its crackdown in comparison to previous elections. “The regime is now very tough and very nervous,” El-Erian said. “Although the regime is used to rigging and forging the elections, it seems to still fear the [public's] support for MB candidates.” Ever since the MB announced on Oct. 9 its decision to contest candidates for the Nov. 28 legislative polls, Egypt's security forces have detained more than 1,200 members of the banned political group. “Prison is prison even if you're in a palace,” said El-Erian. “You are [deprived] of your freedom. This is a very tough thing, and is very [inhumane].” Minister of Interior Habib El-Adly said that the MB's rallies were aimed at provoking confrontations with the police forces in order to “implement their agenda, which violates the interests of the state.” El-Erian himself has been detained several times before, ever since 1981 under former President Anwar El-Sadat's. According to El-Erian, the frequent arrests of MB members have very little psychological impact on the group, which has come to perceive these arrests as “predictable.” “Being arrested in Egypt has become something usual,” El-Erian stated. “Even if you're not a member of the MB, [and even] if you're not politically active, you can still get arrested [easily].” El-Erian denied any desire to gain the majority of the seats in the People's Assembly in November's elections. “We are only contesting 30 percent of the seats,” he said. El-Erian stated that the arrests will definitely affect the MB in the elections, but he added that — on the bright side — the arrests increased solidarity within the MB and increased the people's support for the group. “[The MB's] aim is not to have a political confrontation [with] the regime, but we want the people themselves to take part in the [political] battle,” El-Erian said. “[Without] the people's votes, we cannot guarantee any future for our sons and grandsons.” Despite the government's crackdown on the MB, El-Erian remains optimistic about the future. “In 1984, we only had nine or 10 seats,” he said. “In 2005, we [had] 88 seats after 30 years of Mubarak's regime. Now, the people are more active and more keen on voting.” The MB accused political parties running in the elections — including the Tagammu Party — of striking secret deals with the government in order to gain seats in the PA elections. “In the last Shoura Council, they received very few seats,” El-Erian said. “But it was clear that these seats were a gift from the NDP [National Democratic Party], like they [themselves] said [they were].” The NDP dominated the polls in the Shoura Council elections in June, taking more than 95 percent of the 88 seats that were up for grabs, amid accusations of fraud. Opposition parties won only five seats, while the MB failed to secure a single seat. Head of the Tagammu Party Refaat Al-Said and leaders of Al-Wafd have repeatedly denied that they made any secret deals with the government. According to El-Erian, the political parties running in the elections have refused to join forces with the MB against the NDP in the PA elections. “We are ready for cooperation, but [the opposition parties] refused,” El-Erian said. “They are under pressure from the regime, [knowing that they will gain extra] seats if they stay away from the MB. “We are calling for free and fair elections under international observation. Even a monitoring of the elections by [civil society and human rights organizations] has faced many obstacles [from the government].” El-Erian said in a press conference last week that the MB supports the idea of election supervision by the United Nations — or that of any other international organization — but rejects the idea of a specific country monitoring Egypt's elections. “[Election monitoring by international organizations] has become an international right that guarantees democratic and fair elections, and we [the MB] completely support it,” El-Erian said. “But for a specific country like the United States to use monitoring the elections as an excuse to interfere in Egypt's interior affairs and to force Egypt's organizations to violate the integrity and transparency of the elections, that's unacceptable.” El-Erian said in the conference that the Egyptian government rejects international election monitoring out of fear that officials will get caught red-handed while committing election fraud. The political program of the group's candidates includes achieving social equality between the people, regaining Egypt's sovereignty and respect in the region, and regaining the people's civil rights and freedoms — which includes the cancellation of Egypt's emergency law. The MB was founded by Hassan El-Banna in 1928 and has been deemed a “banned group” since 1954. Candidates of the MB typically run as independents. In 2005, the group won 88 seats — almost 20 percent of the 454 seats — which established the group as the largest opposition group in the PA at the time. The MB is contesting in the upcoming PA elections with 130 registered candidates, including 13 female candidates who are running for PA seats reserved by the government for women. –Additional reporting by Ian Lee
