Mohammed ElBaradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been welcomed home by hundreds of people outside Cairo airport. Mr ElBaradei has not lived in his homeland for decades but is considering running for the presidency in next year's election. Mr ElBaradei was briefly unable to leave the VIP lounge at the airport after his plane arrived. Security forces had earlier warned his backers not to gather at the airport. More than 1,000 people had waited for his arrival, waving banners and chanting support for Mr ElBaradei.
Magdi Abdelhadi, the BBC's Arab affairs analyst, says that for some Egyptians Mr ElBaradei's appeal lies in the fact that he is a civilian - Egypt has been ruled by the military since the monarchy was overthrown more than 50 years ago. He has also been untainted by corruption allegations.
Read More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8524505.stm
The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers: 20. Mohamed ElBaradei
20. Mohamed ElBaradei
for proving that there are second acts in public life.
Democracy activist | Egypt
No one could accuse this Nobel Peace Prize laureate of taking the easy jobs. During his 12-year stint as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei took on some of the world's worst nuclear proliferators -- not to mention U.S. President George W. Bush, who resented the Egyptian lawyer's unwillingness to ratchet up pressure on Iran.
But after leaving the IAEA in 2009, ElBaradei gave himself an even more challenging task: bringing democracy to Egypt. In doing so, he has put himself on a collision course with gerontocratic President Hosni Mubarak, the 82-year-old ruler of Egypt for the past three decades.
Mubarak has found his leading critic a hard man to discredit. ElBaradei has organized a political front meant to unite Egypt's opposition and launched an eloquent attack on an Egyptian political system rigged to ensure the Mubarak family's continued hold on power. He recently called for a boycott of November's parliamentary elections, arguing that participating would only lend credibility to a regime on its last legs.
"I see a decaying temple, almost collapsing," ElBaradei says of Mubarak's rule. "It will fall sooner rather than later."
Source: Foreign Policy
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/11/29/the_fp_top_100_global_t...
New Website For ElBaradei Supporting Campaign
The ElBaradei supporting campaign has launched a new website instead of its old one that was hacked earlier this month.
The new URL is : www.lazem.org
The new website is called “Lazem” which is the new slogan of the campaign. “Lazem” in Arabic or to be precise in our Egyptian dialect means “Must” and it refers to the change that must take place. “Insh Allah”
The comeback of politics
One of several changes in Egyptian society that can no longer be overlooked and which has grown over the past few years is a phenomenon which I have dubbed the "comeback of politics." By that I mean the involvement of ordinary citizens in political activity. The popular reception of ElBaradei upon his arrival at Cairo International Airport on Friday proves my point. What amazed me most was not the presence of political leaders but the presence of considerable numbers of ordinary citizens who came from all over the country to welcome ElBaradei and to express support, despite fears of possible conflicts with security forces. This phenomenon represents a historic development in Egyptian political life since the 1952 revolution. If the current Egyptian regime--whose roots and basic features date back to the fifties--is withering away, then the flip side of this phenomenon is the involvement of ordinary citizens in political life. Admittedly, though, such involvement is still slow and at an embryonic stage in development.
Read More:
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/opinion/comeback-politics
ElBaradei to form 'national association for change'
Mohammed ElBaradei, the former head of the UN's atomic watchdog, has said he is to form what he called "a national association for change" in Egypt. The announcement comes days after he returned to Egypt, and after he said he might run for president. The association will not be the same as a political party, as the formation of parties is tightly controlled. But Mr ElBaradei said anyone who wanted a change to the ruling party of President Hosni Mubarak could join him. The announcement was made after holding talks with opposition figures and civil society leaders.
Read More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8534365.stm