THE ex-UN nuclear chief, who has emerged as an opposition leader in Egypt, warned yesterday that the long-ruling government could face a popular uprising if it didn't respond to appeals for change. Mohamed ElBaradei, who returned to Cairo a week ago to a hero's welcome by supporters who see him as a possible rival to President Hosni Mubarak in the 2011 elections, told the Associated Press that he hoped to create a peaceful public movement pressing for electoral reforms. ElBaradei said Egyptians were desperate for change. When asked if the Government could face protests like those that broke out in Iran, he said he hoped to avoid that but it was ultimately up to the ruling system. ''It is inevitable that change will come to Egypt. What I'm trying to do is preempt a point of clash between the Government and the people,'' he said in an interview in the garden of his home on the outskirts of Cairo. ElBaradei, 67, was coy about whether he plans to run in the 2011 presidential vote, saying that his main focus is on drumming up support for his efforts to promote change and rallying the public as well as fellow opposition leaders behind his campaign. Existing restrictions make it practically impossible for independents to run, meaning that ElBaradei's chances are dim without long-sought constitutional amendments. But his supporters see the former Egyptian diplomat as the most credible opposition leader to emerge in this country of 80 million population. ElBaradei, who has begun forming a coalition with other opposition leaders, said he planned to launch a website to collect signatures from the public with a list of demands to present to the Government. Hassan Nafaa, the coordinator for the new group, said the demands included changing the Constitution to enable independents and new party candidates to run in the presidential election and lifting emergency laws that have been in force for nearly three decades. The petition is the first phase, and protests are another option being considered by the group, according to Nafaa. Since his return on February 19, ElBaradei has met various groups in his house. He met with youth representatives who initiated a petition calling on him to run for presidency. Over 100,000 people have joined a Facebook group supporting his candidacy. Meanwhile, a non-governmental movement has filed a report to the Prosecutor General accusing ElBaradei of trying to destabilise Egypt by exploiting opposition to the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). The Citizens Against Political Stupidity Movement accused him also of launching an “uncontrolled” bid to change the Constitution. "This, if happened, would bring a bad coterie to rule," Khaled Abdel-Fattah, the head of the group, said, without elaborating.
