[Al Ahram] President Mohamed Morsi's assistant for foreign relations and internal cooperation, Essam El-Haddad, has told CNN America that ongoing protests in Egypt are not a drawback and should be viewed as people exercising their freedom of expression.Haddad, who is currently visiting Washington DC with a delegation of Egyptian officials, said violence at the presidential palace between pro- and anti-Morsi protesters was reprehensible. President Morsi is open to dialogue and willing to negotiate on all matters, he added.
Speaking with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday, Haddad rejected calls by Constitution Party leader Mohamed ElBaradei
Egyptian law scholar and Iranian catspaw. He was head of the IAEA from December 1997 to November 2009. At some point during his tenure he was purchased by the Iranians. ElBaradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for something in 2005. After stepping down from his IAEA position ElBaradei attempted to horn in on the 2011 Egyptian protests which culminated in the collapse of the Mubarak regime. ElBaradei served on the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group, a lefty NGO that is bankrolled by the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as George Soros' Open Society Institute. Soros himself serves as a member of the organization's Executive Committee.
for the constitutional referendum, set for 15 December, to be postponed.
"There will be a referendum for the people to freely express their view. What is the use of cancelling the draft constitution at this moment?" Haddad stated.
If the constitution is approved, he said, the new parliament would have the opportunity to rework the contentious articles.