Freedom and Justice party MP Al-Dardiri’s announcement over Camp David Accords made as an Egyptian delegation tries to show the U.S. there is nothing to fear from Muslim Brotherhood rule.
A member of parliament for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party said on Friday that the movement would not put Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel to a national referendum vote.
Muslim Brotherhood members attending the first Egyptian parliament session after the revolution that ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo - Photo by: Reuters
“We will not put the Camp David accords, or any other agreement Egypt has signed to a national referendum,” said member of parliament Abd Al-Maujood Al-Dardiri.
Al-Dardiri is currently in the U.S. heading a delegation of Egyptian politicians and members of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party. The aim of the trip is to convince the U.S. government, the business community and the public in general, that the U.S. has no reason to fear Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt.
The delegation came to the U.S. on the recommendation of the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for the presidency, Khairat Al-Shater, who himself began intensifiying contacts with U.S. government officials six months ago. Al-Shater has also been in contact recently with representatives of the World Bank and international financial institutions in order to secure loans and credit that will enable Egypt to restore the massive damage inflicted upon her in the aftermath of the revolution.
The adherence of the Muslim Brotherhood to the Camp David accords has turned into a test of the reliability of the movement when it comes to international relations, and also part of the criterion by which the U.S. will determine the level of aid that the Obama administration will give to Egypt.
To date, Muslim Brotherhood spokespersons and representatives in parliament have emphasized that they are committed to the Camp David Accords, and that now the are shying away from the idea of conducting a national referendum to give legitimacy to altering – or canceling – the agreement.
The Salafi movement, which has nominated its own candidate for president, has also made clear its adherence to the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, and has stated that it is not considering reexamining it now. Calls for taking a second look at the agreements are coming from secular and liberal circles now, as the Accords symbolize, among other things, the legacy of the authoritarian regimes of former Egyptian presidents Sadat and Mubarak.
At the same time, the presidential campaign continues to provide news on a daily basis. Omar Suleiman, intelligence minister under Mubarak, announced on Thursday that he had decided “to place himself under the judgement of his supporters“ and stand for election, after he made it clear last week that he was out of the presidential race as he had “understood that the difficulties in front of him were too great for him to bear.”
This was the third upheaval of Suleiman’s position, a candidate who is thought to have army support, and who is seen as a counterweight to the candidacy of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Khairat Al-Shater.
Suleiman’s candidacy may erode support for Amr Moussa, who is not only seen as the candidate of choice for secular Egyptians, but also as a candidate that might seriously challenge the influence of the army. Interestingly, with Suleiman’s more recent announcement that he was returning to stand for election, rumors began to spread on social networks about the “Jewish origins” of Moussa’s mother, as well as rumors about Moussa being appointed minister of foreign affairs by Mubarak, and that Mubarak supported his nomination for the role of Secretary General of the Arab League.
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By Zvi Bar’el
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