CAIRO – 3 May 2023: Egypt’s General Coordinator of the National Dialogue Diaa Rashwan said in his speech during the dialogue inaugural session that Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi’s call for the National Dialogue last April is the first of its kind since the 1925 revolution.
He added that Egypt has witnessed various dialogues, “but this is the first time that a national dialogue has been held without predetermined political goals other than consensus on the priorities of national work.”
He added that President Sisi does not have a party or union, as was the case before, “rather, he calls Egyptians for a national dialogue to discuss what they find important and comes as a priority from them.”
Rashwan stressed that “There isn’t a single party, syndicate, entity for youth, or a political power that has not participated in the National Dialogue.”
He noted that the National Dialogue does not substitute constitutional state institutions, but rather connects Egyptians with it.
Rashwan listed several Determinants of the National Dialogue:
- There are no red lines except in accordance with the constitution and the lawEach of us can put forward and say what he/she wants while trying to reach concrete and thoughtful alternatives and solutions
- The National Dialogue is always directed towards finding alternatives, whether through the legislative channels or the channels of the executive bodies
- There is no participation for two groups in the dialogue: those who practice violence, incite it, or participate in it, and those who reject the country's constitution
- The Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue excluded 3 issues from discussions during the Dialogue as “they are almost agreed upon”: “no discussions regarding the existing constitution, or Egypt’s foreign policy or the strategic national security”
- The national dialogue is not an alternative institution to the existing constitutional institutions of the state. Rather, we are representing Egyptians, we should be seen as a gateway to connect Egyptians, with the country’s institutions, and government.
Rashwan stressed that “since the dialogue kicked off, we had several guarantees of its success, this includes the releasing 1400 of those who were held in pretrial detention, along with issuing presidential pardons for nearly 15 of those sentenced by judicial rulings.”
He added: “We also have in the national dialogue many proposals on the committee’s discussion tables to amend the provisions of preventive detention in the form of legislation and proposals from almost all groups participating in the dialogue”.
He said that the dialogue took almost a year since last April; however, this year ‘was not put in vain’.
“We held 100 closed sessions, in addition to another 23 sessions for the National Dialogue Board of Trustees.” Rashwan said, adding that “All results of the dialogue sessions will be submitted to the President personally”
He also confirmed that the Board of Trustees of the dialogue decided that all of the coming sessions will be public, and all media outlets are invited to attend and cover
“I ask the Egyptian citizens for 3 things: please participate with us, watch us and be patient with us.” Rashwan said.
“The dialogue will not take years, but perhaps months or a few weeks, and we will submit the results first to the president. But the dialogue is still something new to us and it deserves some patience” he concluded
Be Social
Comments
Leave a Comment