The Civil Democratic Movement in Egypt, which includes opposition parties, has criticised what it calls the authorities’ economic measures that increase the suffering of citizens, as well as the slow pace of releasing prisoners of conscience.
The movement met on Wednesday evening to discuss the latest developments in the call for a national dialogue and related procedures related to the formation of its various groups and committees. Members also discussed the guarantees demanded by the movement in the statement issued on 8 May as a prerequisite for negotiations to begin.
“The committees of the national dialogue political axes did not achieve the required and agreed balance with the party calling for dialogue [the regime], which stipulates that the dialogue between the authority and the opposition takes place with equal representation,” the movement explained.
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It stressed the need to emphasise the commitment to release prisoners of conscience and expressed deep concern over the slowness of the release procedure. Moreover, the movement affirmed its firm rejection of the continued arrests of citizens for expressing their opinions, and restrictions placed on citizens and the media, which contradict the regime’s claims of moving towards real political reform in line with the principles of the constitution regarding freedom of thought, opinion and expression.
It also renewed its rejection of the authorities’ rush to take economic and political measures of a strategic nature before starting the dialogue, especially since these measures affect the lives of citizens and increase the burdens placed on them. It noted that adopting these measures are in stark contrast to the statements by the regime, which said that all issues of concern to citizens would be discussed in the national dialogue sessions.
The movement stressed that its participation in the preparatory procedures for dialogue does not in any way signify its approval of the recent policies adopted by the government at an economic and social level that affect the daily life of citizens and increase the burden of external debt and inflation. It also affirmed its adherence to the constants contained in the founding statement, which emphasised the centrality of the issue of social justice and the development of economic production.
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