CAIRO: Political leader Mohamed ElBaradei's Basic Rights Charter will be presented to the ruling army council within days for discussion, member of his presidential campaign Hisham El-Hawary told Daily News Egypt. However, he added, "we do not consider the [ruling] Supreme Council of the Armed Forces the entity [from which to seek] approval. The Egyptian people should have the final say." On Sunday, ElBaradei's campaign released the final version of the 17-article charter, 12 days after a draft was first introduced for public debate. El-Hawary said ElBaradei had the idea of drafting the charter about two weeks after former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted on Feb. 11, following an 18-day nationwide uprising. "He started discussing it with political entities and intellectuals before the first draft was presented,” El-Hawary said. Nobel Laureate ElBaradei said in a recent interview on state TV that he was inspired to create the charter after seeing the current divisions among political powers over vital issues as well as the torture, oppression and lack of dignity that stigmatized Egyptians under the former corrupt regime. ElBaradei, also former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the purpose of the charter is to guarantee Egyptians' rights in the future. The core of the finalized charter remained the same with slight editing and adjustments made to the draft. "There were no major reservations on the charter articles. But the form of some required editing and rewriting," El-Hawary explained. The charter is divided into two sections: six articles outlining the basic principles that govern the state and 11 charting Egyptians' basic rights. It stipulates that Islam is the religion of the state, Arabic its main language and that Egypt is a democratic republic. The charter also guarantees basic rights, such as equality in freedoms and obligations, the freedom of expression and the right to hold peaceful demonstrations. Several human rights and political groups welcomed the initiative. Others disagreed with Article 15 obliging the state to provide free, mandatory education at least during the preliminary stage. Critics argued that education should be free in all stages. The second article of the charter also stirred debate. Like Article 2 of the suspended 1971 constitution, this one stipulates that Islam is the religion of the state and that Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation. The charter also guarantees freedom of religion, doctrine and practicing religious rituals without violating the rights of others. On June 8, ElBaradei interpreted the meaning of a civil state in a video posted on YouTube saying it entailed freedom of belief and expression without prosecution. According to El-Hawary, the charter is separate from the constitution. "[But] the [new] constitution can derive its chore from these articles," he said. ElBaradei expressed in several media statements his rejection of the measures taken by SCAF as to the amendment of the 1971 constitution suspended on Feb. 13. He and other political leaders frequently called for drafting a new constitution prior to parliamentary or presidential elections, both scheduled to take place before the end of the year. –Additional reporting by Heba Fahmy.
