The Egyptian cultural society refuses the "absurd" way used to form the committee responsible of drafting the constitution

The vice-President of the Egyptian Writers Union, Gamal el-Tellawi, stated that the Union refuses the way followed by the Islamist majority in the Parliament to form the committee responsible of drafting the Egyptian constitution.

"Why do they insist that 50% of the members of this committee are members of parliament?" he asked. "They have even taken over the choice of individuals who adhere to this committee".

According to el-Tellawi, what is happening now proves that there has been no real change in politics in Egypt. "The Muslim Brotherhood follow the same policies of the dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP)", he said.

And el-Tellawi to say he is surprised of the attitude of the Muslim Brotherhood who has experienced injustice, oppression and exclusion in the time of the former regime. "They now apply the same injustice against the Egyptian people".

For El-Tellawi, the Egyptians rose up to make democratic progress. "But, what happens now is a regression of which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and the assembly of the people are responsible", he resumed. "The government of al-Ganzouri has no prerogative, as was the case with the government of Essam Sharaf".

According to the vice-president of the Egyptian Writers Union, crises which Egypt knows now are artificial to attract people's attention away from politics, what will help those who hold the power in the country to draw up the constitution as they see it and elect a president who goes with their objectives. "Who are in power today are smarter than the former regime. Mubarak created one crisis at a time, but those guys are able to create multiple simultaneous crises", he said.

For el-Tellawi, the only way to resolve the situation is to work on three axes. "First, the SCAF, who has protected the revolution, needs to know that he has to deliver, honestly, power, and remove the trusteeship imposed on the Egyptian people since 1952. The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists must then understand that the popularity they had gained after the revolution may disappear if they continue to capture the decision-making, and finally, the government of al-Ganzouri must be given real powers for the rest of the transitional period.

For his side, the investigator in the field of Egyptian heritage, Gamal Eddin Abdel Aziz, called "absurd", the way chosen to form the committee responsible for drafting the constitution because it reflects the control of one of the spectra of the society on the next constitution.

According to Gamal Eddin, neither the majority nor the minority should seize the drafting of the constitution. "Every part of the society must participate in the drafting of this constitution", he said. “What happens now will never lead to a constitution acceptable to all Egyptians."

Gamal Eddin wonders why those who formed the committee abandoned the draft of the constitution of 1954 which is accepted by all Egyptians. "The honest have withdrawn from this committee," he resumed.

For Gamal Eddin, requires that all communities and political stripes in Egypt are represented fairly in the committee drafting the constitution. "The Muslim Brotherhood must be submitted by one member, as well as the Salafists, the Nubians, the Amazigh .. etc", he said. "It is surprising that the committee does not group with representatives of Nubia, the Sinai and Siwa."

And Gamal Eddin added that the constitutional and legal experts and judges of the High Constitutional Court should be the basis of this committee. "I also suggest that the committee includes, as consultants, international experts on the Constitution ... But if the situation remains as it is now, the future is dark", he concluded.