Egypt’s national talks: Bumpy road to reconciliation

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi called on April 26 during an Iftar event in Ramadan for a national dialogue that would include all of the Egyptian opposition figures and groups in order to instigate a national reconciliation.

Several political figures welcomed the move, which is seen as a breakthrough in a mainly closed atmosphere since the ouster of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, especially since thousands of political prisoners languish behind bars amid a massive political turmoil that had plagued the country for the past ten years.

The president vowed that Egypt will witness a more inclusive political system that will provide wider room for the opposition groups, such as the Civil Democratic Movement, and several civil society groups.

Sisi’s announcement of talks was followed by the release of about 50 political prisoners, including activists, researchers, journalists, and ordinary citizens who are suffering from pretrial detention.

The move was praised by several opposition figures such as Hamdeen Sabbahi, former presidential candidate, head of the Dignity Party, and member of the Civil Democratic Movement.

A pro-state organization called the National Training Academy (NTA) - believed to be operating under the Egyptian General Intelligence Service (GIS) - was tasked to organize and coordinate the expected national discussions.

Those who will participate in the expected talks must not be advocating violence or involved in any crimes against civilians or military and police personnel, according to the NTA’s conditions.

The previous moves led to the creation of the Presidential Pardon Committee to look into the file of prisoners who are jailed for political-related topics and their involvement in violence has not been proven.

The committee has a website on which it receives requests from the families of the detainees in order to study if the prisoner’s status meets the demands of a presidential pardon or not.

Lawyer Tarek al-Awady, a member of the committee, said in press statements that the government is planning to release more political prisoners in the upcoming period.

Ten prisoners were released on Thursday, and all of them had been jailed for political-related charges, said Awady in press statements.

The opposition groups represented by the Civil Democratic Movement have requests ahead of the national dialogue, such as the immediate release of those who are jailed on charges of unlawful gathering and spreading fabricated news through social media.

The requests have also included equal participation from the government and the opposition in the expected dialogue, and the immediate cease of police probation for those who were released from prison, according to Independent Arabia.

Several critics have seen that the government’s initiative to launch talks with the opposition suffers from a set of internal contradictions, such as the condition of not discussing police brutality during the expected dialogue.

On May 29, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) officially demanded the Egyptian Prosecution Office to investigate the death of economic researcher Ayman Hadhoud.

Hadhoud died in March while in police custody after disappearing on February 6, only to be found dead a month later in the morgue of the Abbasiya psychiatric hospital. The late economist was known for his criticism of the government’s financial policies.

However, opposition figure Hamdeen Sabbahi said in an interview on May 26 that the national dialogue is a must to end the current political abyss.