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| Judge says aims to restore Egypt's dignity Posted: 24 Mar 2011 07:36 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian judge who exposed corruption in Hosni Mubarak's era says he will work to create jobs and restore Egypt's dignity if elected in the first competitive presidential election.
Hisham al-Bastawisy, 59, says he faced retribution from the Mubarak administration after exposing election rigging in 2005. Harassed by internal security forces, he left Egypt and spent the last two years living in Kuwait. Now he is home, seeking a role in helping Egypt's recovery from three decades of Mubarak rule ended by the mass uprising that swept him from power in February. Bastawisy declared his presidential bid this week, becoming the latest high-profile figure to throw his hat into the ring for the election scheduled for later this year by the military council to which Mubarak handed power. Other prominent candidates so far include Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei and liberal politician Ayman Nour. "My most challenging mission, if I won, is to bring security and dignity together to the Egyptian citizen," said Bastawisy during an interview at his Cairo apartment. Once a political and cultural engine of the Arab world, Egypt's influence diminished under Mubarak, eroding national pride that has been revived by the popular uprising that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11. Political oppression by the Mubarak administration and abuses by his security forces were triggers of the rebellion, together with the bleak economic opportunities for the young in a country of 80 million people. "I would like to implement an economic system that would consider the social conditions of the majority of Egyptians," said Bastawisy, referring to the poor. "HORRIBLE" VIOLATIONS "I will also focus on solving the high rate of unemployment by improving the education system and provide people with better qualifications to meet the demands of the job market," he said. Measures taken against Bastawisy by the Mubarak administration included a travel ban in 2008. He was one of a group of judges who launched a campaign in 2005 to demand judicial independence and full judicial oversight of elections. "I was detained and investigated by state security when I joined other judges to document the violations encountered in the Egyptian elections in 2005," Bastawisy said. "The violations were horrible and they included physical attacks on judges who were supervising ballot stations." The new interior minister has pledged to reform the police force in line with the demands of the reformists who rose up against Mubarak. The hated state security apparatus has been dissolved. Bastawisy said the problem was with the political leadership, not the police force. "The problem of the security agencies were not in the police officers but in the former regime which had asked from them to work in this way without any respect for international human rights laws," he said. "I would rebuild all of the state institutions to make them based on democracy." (Editing by Tom Perry) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| EXCLUSIVE-INTERVIEW-Yemen general says has no desire for office Posted: 24 Mar 2011 07:36 AM PDT SANAA (Reuters) - A top Yemeni general who has thrown his weight behind street protests demanding the immediate resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he has no desire to take power or hold political office.
General Ali Mohsen, who sent troops to protect pro-democracy protesters in Sanaa, said military rule in Arab countries was outdated and that the people would decide who would govern them in the framework of a modern, civilian state. "Ali Mohsen as an individual has served for 55 years and has no desire for any power or position," he told Reuters in a written response to questions. "I have no more ambition left except to spend the remainder of my life in tranquility, peace and relaxation far from the problems of politics and the demands of the job." Mohsen, commander of the northwest military zone and Saleh's kinsman from the al-Ahmar clan, is the most senior military officer to back the protests, and his move on Monday triggered a stream of defections in the military and government. Some protesters have displayed the general's picture on their tents in the protest encampment in Sanaa, but opposition leaders regard his motives with suspicion and few would want him to have a role in any future transitional government. Defence Minister Mohammad Nasser Ali has said the army still backed Saleh, setting the stage for a possible standoff with those commanders who threw in their lot with tens of thousands of protesters who have taken to the street for weeks. The defections, after snipers shot dead 52 protesters on Friday, mounted pressure on Saleh to resign. Saleh has offered to hand over power under a new constitution after parliamentary and presidential elections by the end of this year. Mohsen, 70, took credit for bringing Saleh to power in 1978, saying if he wanted power he would have taken it then. He said the options before Saleh were now few, and criticised what he described as his "stubbornness", but said the armed forces were committed to protecting protesters peacefully. "As for the steps that could be taken to resolve the crisis, I think the options have become few, if they have not already vanished because of stubbornness that is shown by the regime." YEMEN FREE OF TERRORISM Protesters have largely welcomed Mohsen's support, although some cracks have started to emerge, especially with northern Shi'ite rebels who see him as a ruthless military leader who led the military campaign against them in a bloody civil war. Some leftists and southerners have expressed worry that their goals for democracy will be overtaken in a struggle for sway, although the Islamist opposition is thought to view Mohsen more favourably. "The scenarios of the army taking power in the Arab world are out of date, nor is there a possibility that armies would steal the peoples' revolutions," Mohsen said. "The people today are the ones who will decide who will govern them in the framework of modern civil states." Deadly clashes have already erupted between the presidential guard in the southern city of Mukalla and turncoat soldiers, and Saleh loyalist forces briefly surrounded an air force battalion in Hudeida before backing down. The atmosphere in Sanaa, where Mohsen has a camp adjacent to the main anti-government protest area, has been quiet but tense. Mohsen's troops are deployed near the protest zone, while tanks have deployed close to the presidential palace to protect Saleh. "We thank God that the sons of the armed forces today are very conscious and responsible, and we don't have fears that confrontation could occur," Mohsen said. Washington and Riyadh, Yemen's main financial backer, have long seen Saleh as a bulwark against a resurgent Yemen-based al Qaeda network. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Washington had not planned for an era without Saleh. Mohsen, an Islamist who was seen as close to the Islamist opposition, said the army would work with the international community against terrorism. "The mission of the army has become confined to protecting the country from any foreign aggression and to work with the international community to create a new Yemen free of terrorism. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Sudam and Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Samia Nakhoul) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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