Egypt opp. figures reject invites to meet Kerry

Egyptian opposition figures have turned down invitations to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry during his weekend visit to Cairo due to the US pressure on the opposition.

Hamdeen Sabahi, who is a leader of the National Salvation Front (NSF), said on Thursday that he and prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei would not attend a meeting with Kerry at which the opposition could be pressured to reconsider its boycott of Egypt’s parliamentary election in April.

“I received an invitation and turned it down, and Dr ElBaradei received an invitation and he turned it down,” Sabahi told Egyptian private television channel ONTV.

“We want to send a message that we reject American pressure,” Sabahi added.

An aide of another NSF leader, Amr Mussa, said Mussa would also not attend a meeting with Kerry.

“We see that there is not way we can participate in the election, this is an NSF decision, and the unity of the NSF is our number one priority,” the aide said on condition of anonymity, saying Mussa would instead send a representative.

Ahmed el-Borai, a member of the National Salvation Front also said that he declined a US Embassy’s invitation “so as to not allow a foreign party to dictate its will on Egyptians.”

In a similar move, Egypt’s oldest opposition party, al-Wafd, said its head, el-Sayed el-Badawi, had also rejected the embassy’s invitation to meet with Kerry.

Kerry is expected to travel to Cairo on Saturday and meet with Egyptian President Mohaned Morsi and the head of Egypt’s military.

Egyptian opposition groups have threatened to boycott the elections, accusing Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood party of trying to monopolize power. The president rejects the allegation.

On February 8, thousands of Egyptian opposition protesters held demonstrations against Morsi after calls from nearly 40 opposition groups on the “Friday of dignity.”

Protesters called on Morsi to realize the goals of Egypt’s revolution that ended the 30-year-long dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Egypt’s parliamentary elections come at a time when unrest, insecurity, and an economic crisis have plagued the North African country.