Egyptian Opposition Rejects Mubarak’s Amendments

Members of parliament affiliated with Muslim Brotherhood, other opposition parties and independents declared on Tuesday their rejection to president Mubarak’s 34 constitutional amendments.
 
The Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc and MPs of Tagammu’ Party, Al-Ghad, Al-Karma, and the independents declared their tentative rejection to the proposal that president Hosni Mubarak lodged to both the People’s Assembly and Shura Council for amending 34 Articles of the constitution. This took place while the report was discussed by the Assembly’s general committee which is related to the constitutional amendments.
 
Mohamed Saad Al Katatni said, in his speech before the Assembly:” We are in a historical moment in which the people need a clear decision; unfortunately, these amendments are incomplete and are expressing a one-sided view that does not reflect the status quo of the society; they also neglect the suggestions presented by the members of parliament when they were asked to give their opinion last year .
 
While the National Democratic Party and Wafd Party MPs approved the amendments, the Parliament speaker, Dr. Fathi Serour said” These amendments are considered a key turning point in the Egyptian constitutional system as they are widest since 1980 and come under president Mohamed Hosni Mubarak’s interest in increasing the democratic practice and improving the constitutional structure of our political system in a way that supports the course of reform and development in Egypt. “
 
Amendments of NDP’s Mubarak Rejected

Saad Al Katatni, the chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc, said in a statement to Ikhwanweb that they reject the amendments altogether because time isn’t suitable while the political and constitutional reform process is retreating and while the society is facing very bad conditions that require finding an appropriate climate for ending the political tensions; he confirmed that these amendments establish tyranny and set the scene for the hereditary transfer of power to Mubarak Jr., and decrease the margin of freedom that the Egyptian people obtained during the last two years.
 
He noted also that Mubarak’s amendments don’t include amending article 77 that allows a peaceful transfer of power and that defines the president’s term, a strong indication that there are no plans for making such a peaceful transfer.
 
Al Katatni said that ” The amendments are proposed by president Mubarak who is the president of the National Democratic Party;  they are proposed without holding any wide popular dialogue around them; he is only using his NDP majority in the parliament to pass his amendment, although these amendments need a consensus among all Egyptians, not only the National Party whose members are no more than 2 million members, according to the NDP’s statistics, while the Egyptian population is more than 78 millions; this is considered an exclusion of most Egyptian people including their various political spectrum through preventing them from exercising their rights and imposing a one-sided view that sends Egypt back to eras of backwardness and tyranny.”
 
That’s Enough Mubarak!!
 
While a member of parliament who belongs to the National Democratic Party supported Mubarak’s right in dissolving the People’s Assembly, another NDP, Mohamed Hussein, shouted ” Everything is centered around Mubarak…. Everything is centered around Mubarak…that ’s enough that’s enough…..it is unbearable” and he unbuttoned his shirt amid the astonishment of the MPs.
 
The House Speaker said to Hussein:” I will ask the Assembly to drive you out of the session; get out or we will drive you out.”