Ghannouchi: Ready to play role of mediator in Egypt

Leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda movement, Rachid Ghannouchi said yesterday that if the parties involved in Egyptian affairs believe he can help in any reconciliation process, he would be more than happy to do so.

Ghannouchi’s remarks came in response to media reports claiming he was part of an initiative to reconcile differences in Egypt.

In an exclusive interview with Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, Ghannouchi said he expects “Saudi Arabia to lead reconciliation efforts in Egypt because the region as a whole – and Egypt in particular – is in need to reconciliation.”

In February, Ghannouchi urged Saudi’s King Salam Bin Abdulaziz to lead reconciliation efforts in Egypt and to bridge the gap between the army and the Muslim Brotherhood; he received no response from Saudi.

“The Arab world needs Egypt and its army to be strong, because without Egypt, the Arab world becomes paralysed, which became clear when Egypt withdrew from the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Ghannouchi said.

He added: “For Egypt to perform its role as guardian and defendant of the Arab world, it should have a stable domestic situation.”

According to Ghannouchi: “It would be unrealistic to ask the Egyptian army to withdraw from politics completely, which also applies to other components of the Egyptian political sphere including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Copts, liberals and other political groups.”

He said any reasonable solution in Egypt must take into account these political forces and those who believe this war on the Muslim Brotherhood could alienate them are wasting their time.

Ghannouchi warned that attempts to exclude certain groups never achieved any goals.

The Ennahda leader revealed that he has already expressed his ideas of how to solve Egypt’s political conflict to “figures close to the Egyptian regime”.