By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: Twenty-two groups including the Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution and April 6 Youth Movement turned down an invitation for an open dialogue with the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) on Wednesday.
The groups sent a statement to SCAF on Tuesday politely declining their invitation to an open dialogue in El-Galaa Theatre on Wednesday.
“The method in which the (youth movements) were invited (to the dialogue) shows the lack of seriousness in dealing with these movements,” the statement read.
SCAF had invited youth coalitions of the revolution to an open dialogue with the army on Wednesday, in a statement issued on its Facebook page on Monday.
SCAF added that the venue could only take 1,000 people and called on each coalition to swiftly choose 10 members to represent it.
Among the reasons listed for the rejection, is what the groups described as ongoing violations by the council, which include military trials of civilians, issuing laws incriminating peaceful protests, and imposing restrictions on freedom of expression and voicing any criticism against the army in the media.
They said that SCAF didn’t determine the issues that would be discussed in Wednesday’s dialogue, adding that there were no guarantees that the decisions taken during it would be implemented on the ground.
The groups recalled the National Dialogue conferences, where they claimed that remnants of the former regime took over the debate, leading to chaos.
The statement described the SCAF’s decision to invite 10 members of each “revolution movement” as “a media stunt” and a recipe for chaos.
It added that the invitation was made two days before the event, which didn’t give enough time to the youth to discuss the matter and prepare for it within and amongst themselves.
“We refuse to be (separated) from the rest of the political powers that represent the revolution,” the groups said, adding that such a move would negatively affect said powers.
The groups called on SCAF to reconsider the structure of the dialogue and its context for it to be successful.
Early Wednesday, the SCAF issued a statement on its Facebook page, stating that it will organize several meetings with the youth next week, to accommodate the large number of youth who responded to its invitation.
The SCAF said the fax machines were closed at 1 pm on Tuesday, after the required number of youth —1,000 — responded to the council’s invitation to attend the dialogue.
Khaled El-Sayed, a member of the Coalition of Youth of the Revolution, told Daily News Egypt, “It’s easy to garner 1,000 youth from the millions that live in Egypt.”
He said that there were three groups attending the dialogue: the youths that always root for SCAF and praise it which will represent the majority of the dialogue, those who want to attack the army in public and make a scene without reaching any solutions, and those who want to see how the dialogue goes after the most prominent youth coalitions boycott it.