[Al Ahram] Prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradeiEgyptian 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.
said on Saturday there could be no dialogue with Egypt's president until he rescinded a "dictatorial" decree that he said gave the Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi the powers of a pharaoh.
The presidential decree issued on Thursday by Morsi, elected in June with the Moslem Brüderbund behind him, expanded his powers and caused fury amongst his opponents, prompting violent festivities in central Cairo and other cities on Friday.
Judges, angry at measures seen as undermining the judiciary, have threatened to strike if the declaration was not revoked and the opposition has called for more protests, with one planned for Tuesday.
"There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says 'let us split the difference'," ElBaradei said in an interview with Rooters and The News Agency that Dare Not be Named after talks with opposition figures.
ElBaradei, who said he expected to be coordinator of a new opposition National Salvation Front, said Mursi's declaration threatened Egypt's troubled transition to democracy and actions were needed to stop a "cycle of violence".
"How are we going to do that? I do not see any other way other than through Mr. Morsi rescinding his dictatorial declaration," he said, adding the decree created a "new pharaoh".