Six human rights organizations refused the call by Egypt's Deputy Prime Minister, Ali al-Selmy, to hold a conference Tuesday to draft the principles on which the members of the assembly that will draft Egypt's new constitution. The organizations said in a statement that they will not accept any such calls until the ruling military council and its government offer evidence of their respect for the rights of the Egyptian people. They criticized referring civilians to military trials, torturing prisoners, and defamation campaigns against civil society organizations. The organizations added that they welcome dialogue with the government as they hope to establish a civil state. However, they said they refused the invitation since the rulers have not met the demands of the Egyptian people, and accused the council of leading campaigns against the political forces that defend democracy. The organizations criticized dialogue between the government and political powers before, describing them as attempts aiming at deluding public opinion. The organizations are the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, The al-Nadeem Center, the Hisham Mubarak Center, the Egyptian Center for Social and Economic Rights, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, and the Freedom of Expression Institution.
