Excerpts: Egypt's ElBaradei urges national boycott of elections, Syria
still refusing to cooperate with IAEA, Abbas asks US to settle settlement
expansion. Mubarak warns of new dangers in the Gulf. El Baradei alleges
smear campaign 7 September 2010

+++SOURCE: Egyptian Gazette 7 Sept '10:"ElBaradei urges election boycott",
Associated Press

SUBJECT:Egypt's ElBaradei urges national boycott of elections

QUOTE:"largest opposition force, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood ... is unlikely
to boycott"

FULL TEXT:CAIRO - Egypt's leading democracy advocate made a forceful call
Monday(6 Sept) for
the nation to boycott November's parliamentary election, saying they were
certain to be rigged and urging his young supporters to be patient and plan
for a lengthy struggle.

Nobel laureate Mohammed ElBaradei told about 200 activists gathered a
sunset Ramadan meal that participating in the vote would go against "the
national will" to transform Egypt into a genuine democracy.
"If the whole people boycott the elections totally, it will be in my
view, a great leap towards change," he told reporters afterward.
Egypt's opposition groups are divided over the issue of a boycott and it
is not clear how many would heed a call not to contest or vote in the
election.
The largest opposition force, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, for example, is
unlikely to boycott, although it backs ElBaradei and his demands for change.
ElBaradei, who served as the chief of the UN nuclear agency, returned
home in February to a hero's welcome.
Supporters have rallied behind him to press for democratic reforms and
urged him to run in the 2011 presidential election.
ElBaradei, whose campaign has provoked government anger, said he would
only run if there were constitutional changes and guarantees of free
elections.
In six months, his campaign has gathered around 800,000 signatures on a
petition calling for such changes - a force that seems to have encouraged
ElBaradei to attack the government more forcefully.
Until Egypt's political system opens up, it would be wrong to legitimise
it by participating in elections, he said. By pressing from the outside, the
regime is more likely to give way, he said.
ElBaradei claimed the ruling party has failed to govern Egypt, bringing
only rising poverty, illiteracy and disregarding human rights.
:

+++SOURCE: Egyptian Gazette 7 Sept.'10:"Syria still refusing to cooperate-
International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA)", Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Syria is still refusing to cooperate with IAEA

QUOTE:"Syria 'has not cooperated with the agency since June 2008'

FULL TEXT:VIENNA -The UN atomic watchdog said Monday(6 Sept)
it has been unable to make any progress in its two-year investigation into
alleged illicit nuclear activities in Syria as Damascus is still refusing to
cooperate.

In a restricted five-page report obtained by AFP, the International
Atomic Energy Agency complained that Syria "has not cooperated with the
agency since June 2008 in connection with the unresolved issues related to
the Dair Alzour site and the other three locations allegedly functionally
related to it.
"As a consequence, the agency has not been able to make progress
towards resolving the outstanding issues related to those sites."
The United States accuses Syria of building a covert nuclear reactor at
the remote desert site of Dair Alzour with the help of North Korea until it
was bombed by Israel in September 2007.
The IAEA has already said that the building bore some of the
characteristics of a nuclear facility.
UN inspectors also detected "significant" traces of man-made uranium at
that site, as yet unexplained by Damascus.
It has also requested access to three other locations allegedly
functionally related to Dair Alzour, but so far to no avail.
Time was pressing, the new report said on Monday.
"With the passage of time, some of the necessary information concerning
the Dair Alzour site is further deteriorating or has been lost entirely.
After two years of investigations constrained by Syria's lack of
cooperation, it is critical that Syria positively engage with the agency on
these issues without further delay."
The report is scheduled to be discussed at a meeting of the IAEA's
35-member board of governors at a meeting next week.

+++SOURCE: Egyptian Gazette 7 Sept.'10:"Abbas asks US to solve settlement
dispute",Associated Press

SUBJECT: Abbas ask US to 'settle' settlement expansion

FULL TEXT:RAMALLAH- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he asked the US
to settle
his dispute with Israel over settlement expansion.

Israel's 10-month freeze on new construction in West Bank settlements
ends Sept. 26.
Israeli officials have indicated they will not extend the freeze as is,
but Abbas has said he'll quit peace talks with Israel unless it is extended.
Abbas told reporters Monday(6 Sept) he asked the US to "intervene" in
the issue.
The dispute is expected to take center stage in talks between Abbas and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week.
Settlements take up land the Palestinians want for a state.
The US relaunched negotiations last week after nearly two years,
promising to play an active role.

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 7 Sept '10:" Mubarak concerned over 'new dangers' in
the Gulf",Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Mubarak warns of 'new dangers' in the Gulf

QUOTE:" 'new dangers that are emerging in the Gulf region and threaten its
stability' "

FULL TEXT:CAIRO (AFP) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Sunday (5
Sept)
he was concerned about "new dangers" in the Gulf, in an apparent allusion to
Iran, whose nuclear ambitions concern numerous Arab countries.
In a speech to mark the Night of Destiny during the holy month of Ramadan,
Mubarak said: "Our celebration comes as our Arab and Muslim world faces
difficult times."
In addition to the problems in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan
and Somalia, Mubarak warned of "new dangers that are emerging in the Gulf
region and threaten its stability."
Western countries and Israel suspect Iran is using its civilian nuclear
programme to hide efforts to develop a nuclear bomb, a prospect that also
worries Arab nations.
Arab nations, such as Saudi Arabia, are also concerned about Shiite Iran's
support for Hizbollah in Lebanon and the Palestinian Islamist movement
Hamas.
Egypt, which has been deeply involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace
talks, postponed last week a visit to Cairo by Iranian Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki over comments criticising the role of some Arab leaders
in facilitating the talks.
Ties between Tehran and Cairo have been severed since 1980 in the wake of
the Islamic revolution in Iran and Egypt's recognition of Israel.
Since then, the two countries have only maintained interest sections in each
other's capitals.

+++SOURCE: BBC News via Egypt Daily News 7 Sept'10:"Egypt's Mohamed
ElBaradei
alleges 'smear campaign "'

SUBJECT: ElBaradei alleges 'smear campaign'
QUOTE:" NDP spokesman said it had no connection to the alleged Facebook
campaign"

FULL TEXT:Mohamed ElBaradei returned to his native Egypt this year
Former UN chief nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei has accused Egypt's
government of being behind a smear campaign targeting his family.
A government-run newspaper had said the ElBaradeis were accused of being
atheists and having a daughter married to a non-Muslim.
Mr ElBaradei said this was how "the regime" responded to reformers.
He has been seen as a potential presidential candidate in Egypt, a
Muslim-majority state.
Speculation is high about who may replace Hosni Mubarak, the country's
82-year-old president, who is known to be unwell but has no obvious
successor after nearly 30 years in office.
'Grave mistake'
Mr ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner as well as former head of the UN's
International Atomic Energy Agency, was quoted in independent newspaper
Al-Dustour as saying the government was "waging a campaign of sheer lies"
against himself and his family.
He also condemned a "smear campaign" allegedly being waged on the social
networking site Facebook.
"This just shows how desperate the forces against change have become by
resorting to a smear campaign based on lies and fabrication," he told the
Associated Press news agency through a spokeswoman.
A spokesman for President Mubarak's National Democratic Party, Ali Eddin
Helal, said it had had no connection to the alleged Facebook campaign, which
he called an attempt at "character assassination".
"I think this is a very grave mistake, violating the privacy of others," the
party spokesman said.
=============
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA