Public figures demand the formation of a founding committee to draft the constitution

A dozen prominent Egyptian public figures called on Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri on Wednesday to take a series of steps aimed at diffusing ongoing political tensions.

Mubarak-era housing minister Hassaballah El-Kafrawi, former deputy prime minister Yehia El-Gamal, and former deputy prime minister for political affairs Ali El-Selmi – the latter two being former members of the Essam Sharaf government – signed the letter that was sent to the newly appointed PM.

Other signatories included former health minister Ibrahim Badran; former information minister and newly appointed head of the advisory council Mansour Hassan; prominent liberal politician Osama Ghazali Harb; National Association for Change General Coordinator Abdel Galil Mustafa; prominent Kefaya movement members George Ishak and Samir Eleish; Cairo Centre for Human Rights Studies head Bahi El-Din Hassan; Tagammu Party chairman Nabil Zaki; and well-known journalist Saad Hagras.

In the letter, the 12 men called on El-Ganzouri to meet the following ten demands:

1- The formation of a founding committee mandated with drafting a new constitution, either through polling or consensus;

2- The release of all detained young revolutionary activists;

3- A halt to the practice of trying civilians in military courts;

4- Swift trials for all those accused of involvement in the October Maspero clashes in which 25 protesters, mostly Coptic Christians, were killed; along with swift trials for all those accused of instigating the Tahrir Square clashes in late November, in which 40 protesters were killed;

5- The swift prosecution of all policemen accused of killing unarmed protesters during Egypt’s January 25 Revolution;

6- The swift prosecution of oligarchs linked to the former Mubarak regime;

7- Free medical treatment for those injured during the revolution and compensation for martyrs’ families;

8- An end to the smear campaigns currently being waged against revolutionary youth;

9- The implementation of price controls; and

10- The setting of a national minimum and maximum wage.