The tripartite delegation appointed by the African Union to review the situation in Egypt is in Cairo this week for its second and final visit. Dileita Mohamed Dileita, prime minister of Djibouti and member of the panel, say down with Ahram Online.

Ahram Online: The majority of Egyptians have criticised the decision of the AU to suspend Egypt’s membership, seeing it as ignoring the reality of the situation in the country. How do you explain that decision?

Dileita Mohamed Dileita: When the delegation visited Egypt for the first time, from 27 July to 4 August, we met with several stakeholders, including the government, youth, a delegation of women, etc. They did not understand why Egypt was sanctioned by the decision to suspend it. In fact, it is not a sanction, but an automatic measure in accordance with a decision that was taken by the AU in 2000 when Africa was suffering several military coups. It was necessary at the time to put an end to this situation. We have succeeded, even if there are still coups.

If we look more closely at the 5 July AU statement suspending Egypt, we find that it does not speak of a coup, but of unconstitutional change. It does not require either the return to power of former president Mohamed Morsi, like other statements released by the Organisation, who demanded a return to constitutional order.

The third positive point for Egypt is that the statement has not asked other international organizations, such as the UN or the Francophonie to align with the position of the AU. Egyptian parties that we encountered during the first visit did not know the details of the position of the AU. And that's what we tried to explain.

On the other hand, we also explained to the 15 countries of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the AU the evolution of the situation in Egypt after the revolution of 25 January 2011 and the arrival of the Muslim Brotherhood to power.

We explained to them how the situation turned against president Morsi, with 22 million petitions requesting to withdraw the popular confidence, with this revolution by more than 33 million citizens who took to the streets and demonstrated on 30 June and with the call by the population to the army to take action. Certainly, the army supported the appeal made by the population. But it did not take power and choose the legality by transmitting power to the president of the Constitutional Court.

That is why at the meeting of our panel with the members of the PSC, all participants expressed understanding of the situation, including the important countries that were more or less hostile to the developments in Egypt, such as Nigeria.

AO: What about South Africa which called the change in Egypt a military coup?

DMD: It was a mistake on their part. From the moment the AU decided to form a panel to discuss the situation in Egypt, it had to await the panel’s findings before deciding .

AO: What is the purpose of the second visit of the panel, chaired by former president of Mali Alpha Oumar Konaré, with the participation of the former president of Botswana Festus Mogae and yourself?

DMD: We had to complete the rest of the meetings with stakeholders in Egypt, such as the sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed El-Tayyeb, and the Coptic Pope Tawadros II. We also want to show the Egyptian authorities that we understood the situation and that we are on the right track. At the same time, we want to show our support for the political roadmap, which is the only way out of the crisis. In this regard, we hope that all parties are involved and we want to accompany Egypt in this approach to be sure that it will be inclusive of all parties, without exception.

AO: You've met members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Do you think they are willing to accept the roadmap, despite their refusal?

DMD: We launched at their address a message of peace. We tried to convince them of the need to adhere to the roadmap and make them understand that it is the only alternative. We try to persuade them to stop violence and sit at the negotiation table with other parties. We welcome in this respect the decision of the Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi, not to exclude Muslim Brotherhood from the roadmap.

AO: What was the reaction of former President Mohamed Morsi and of other members of the Muslim Brotherhood during the first visit of the delegation?

DMD: When we met Morsi, he presented his own interpretation of events emphasising that he was still the president, that it was the army that deposed him and that it was a conspiracy against him. But the chairman of the panel Alpha Oumar Konaré asked him pertinent questions. He asked him how, after he was elected with almost 52 percent of the vote, he finds himself barely a year after in this situation, and why several officials have left him. These were questions which it was difficult to answer. We planned to meet again, but the situation today is much more complicated and we have decided not to seek a second meeting so as not to embarrass the Egyptian authorities.

As for the Muslim Brotherhood, we visited the sit-in at Rabaa Al-Adawiya. And it was very difficult. They welcomed us, thinking that the decision to suspend Egypt was a penalty in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood, while in reality it was an automatic measure, as I have just explained. Inside the sit-in, the dialogue was difficult because there were a lot of people excited. But since it was a mission of listening, we listened without taking a position. They wanted us to go into details, by proposing for example that we visit the hospital installed in the square, but we did not want to get into that game.

AO: What was the content of the progress report presented to the PSC by the panel after its first visit to Egypt?

DMD: It contained everything we found out during our visit. We have insisted on how to help Egypt out of this crisis, but also on the way to help Africans to better understand what happened in Egypt. We wanted to play the intermediary to make it clear to the countries of the AU what really happened in Egypt and not what we have heard or what some wanted us to understand.

AO: Will the dispersion on 14 August of the pro-Morsi sit-ins, which caused many deaths and injuries, influence the conclusions of the final report that the delegation will present to the PSC?

DMD: What happened at Rabaa Al-Adawiya was predictable. The people there were rejecting negotiation. They wanted the return of Morsi and the return to the previous situation. With this language, one would think that things would get to this level. Unfortunately, there were deaths, which we deplore. In any case, nothing will make us change the line on which we rely for our final report.

AO: The final report of the panel will recommend the lifting of the suspension of Egypt?

DMD: Yes. We will ask not only the lifting of the suspension, but that this lifting happens as soon as possible. This is why, after writing our report, we will promptly convene a meeting of the PSC to make a recommendation to the Council of African Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The decision, which is the responsibility of the latter, should intervene in early October, after the end of the UN General Assembly in late September.