CAIRO: Prime Minister Essam Sharaf hailed Monday evening what he described as “the great Egyptian judiciary” which disbanded the former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). On Saturday, the Supreme Administrative Court had ordered the dissolution of the NDP, meeting a main demand by Egypt's political forces and activists. “The [recent] rapid events … indicate that the [journey] towards the state of law has begun,” Sharaf said in his second weekly statement broadcast on state TV, adding that nobody was above the law no matter what position they might held. “This is just a start … as we aim for development, which cannot be achieved with the existence of injustice and corruption,” Sharaf said. The court also ordered the liquidation of the party's assets and buildings and handing them over to the state. Sharaf's caretaker government decided following the verdict to allocate the NDP premises in Giza to the National Council for Human Rights and the main headquarters to specialized national councils. “This is a symbolic message indicating that the NDP buildings would be used for other purposes,” Sharaf said. The court stated in the verdict justifications that the January 25 Revolution had ended the previous political system, forcing the ouster of Mubarak, who led the party for three decades, which necessitated dismantling the party “to enforce the people's will.” The verdict, which cannot be appealed, came a few days after Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were remanded in custody for 15 days pending investigation into corruption charges and responsibility for killing and injuring peaceful protesters on the Jan. 25 nationwide protests and the following days. According to Sharaf, enforcing a state of law was the first step towards the development that Egypt deserves. “When I speak about the state of law, I [mean that] we want to turn into a society where immunity is granted to [every] good citizen … who believes in this nation and works on [its welfare],” Sharaf said, adding that there is a palpable improvement in security. The premier called on citizens to cooperate with the police in combating acts of thuggery. He said that the cabinet will soon approve new legislation regulating the local municipal councils and deciding how they will be run in the coming phase. Political forces and activists have frequently called for dissolving local councils among other anti-corruption demands. In his speech, Sharaf stressed citizens' right to democracy. “Democracy dictates that every citizen has the right to formulate [his or her] future … the idea of political participation to shape the country's future,” he said. Cabinet's legislative committee led by deputy PM Yehia El-Gamal conducted studies about exercising political rights, Sharaf said, adding that a proposal would be put forward soon for Egyptians to publicly debate regarding the ideal electoral system to follow. The premier also urged students and teaching staff on Egypt's campuses to suspend their complaints and grievances until the end of the current academic year, promising real change with regards to the criteria based on which those in leadership positions are hired. “The selection of [academic] leadership should be based on the consensus of students and teaching staff, which the [education minister] Amr Salama is currently working on,” Sharaf said. Students held several sit-ins at different universities around Egypt over the past weeks calling for removing some heads of universities and deans of faculties, especially former members of the NDP. The prime minister said that he engaged in fruitful discussions with a delegation of farmers last week. “I benefited a lot from the meeting ... [as] we discussed several issues and I learned from that,” he said. “[The government] will pay special attention to agriculture in the next stage, of which farmers are the pillars,” Sharaf added. On Thursday, Sharaf approved the establishment of a syndicate for farmers, the first of its kind, to represent them in collective negotiations with agricultural authorities. Moreover, Sharaf announced that the cabinet decided to add an extra LE 10 billion to subsidize food supplies. He said that though production indicators were improving, “the survival of the revolution and the accomplishment of its goals depends on production.” “It's not about achieving the previous levels of production. These must increase as we are facing more challenges than before,” Sharaf said. “It is time to produce more as well as seek the stability of this nation.” Sharaf unveiled that he asked the head of the central bank to set an urgent plan for financing and offering the necessary facilities to ailing factories to help them resume operations. “We have to restore our economic strength as soon as possible. Our enemies don't want Egypt to be a leading country,” he said. “I'm talking about an Egypt of production, patience, solidarity and sacrifice … the value we believe in,” he said, adding that he was optimistic about the future of the country.
