Opposition rejects Mursi call for talks
DEMANDS APPOINTMENT OF A NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT AND PANEL TO AMEND STATUTE
Egypt’s opposition coalition yesterday rejected president Mohammad Mursi’s appeal for dialogue and called for nationwide protests on Friday as violence continued for a fifth day after the Islamist president declared a state of emergency in three cities.
Under emergency powers announced by Mursi for the cities of Port Said, Esmailia and Suez on Sunday, the army will have the right to arrest civilians and to help police restore order.
Reform leader Mohammad Al Baradei and other top figures in the National Salvation Front rejected the call for a national dialogue meeting yesterday to help end the crisis. Al Baradei said Mursi must first appoint a national unity government and name a commission to amend the disputed constitution ratified last month. “We support any dialogue if it has a clear agenda that can shepherd the nation to the shores of safety”, Al Baradei said.
Late on Sunday, Mursi, angering many of his opponents when he wagged his finger at the camera, said: “The protection of the nation is the responsibility of everyone. We will confront any threat to its security with force and firmness within the remit of the law.”
The cabinet yesterday approved a draft law giving the army the right to arrest civilians and assist the police in providing security.
The deadly chaos in Egypt marking the second anniversary of the uprising shows that the transition in the Arab world’s most populous country will be long and painful. The anti- government violence is rooted in a deep distrust of the country’s basic institutions. That’s a problem the Muslim Brotherhood government cannot afford to ignore any longer.
Death sentences handed to 21 soccer fans for a stadium riot that caused more than 70 deaths a year ago triggered a sharp reaction from supporters of one of the rival teams. Now President Mohammad Mursi finds himself in the odd position of asking the public to respect the same judiciary which he previously attempted to overrule on other matters.
Tensions were already boiling among a public tired of political instability, and even if the government can restore order now, there are many potential flash points ahead. Sentences are due in March for the rest of the accused in the stadium riot. The opposition group, the National Salvation Front, is urging nationwide protests and threatening to boycott parliamentary elections unless the constitution is amended and a new presidential vote takes place.
The difficulty of overcoming Egypt’s political divisions has been widely underestimated. Though the country’s long- term growth story remains intact, a recovery will take longer than many expected, and it will be
People died to gain their freedom, social justice, bread. Now after 29 years of the despotic Mubarak, we’re ruled by a worse regime: religious, fascist, more dangerous.”
Mohammad Saber |
a 65- year old engineer
riskier too as each month of instability brings fresh economic losses and deters investment.
The violence is weighing on the Egyptian pound which has already lost 8 per cent of its value this year. Amid rising prices, the government has little room to manoeuvre. And the fact that violent riots are happening along the Suez Canal will reinforce worries about the security of that strategic route, and the precious foreign currency it generates for Cairo.
Egypt’s disparate political factions blame each other for the disorder but none alone look able to generate enough popular support to launch the necessary deep reforms the country badly needs. To restore meaningful stability, it looks increasingly urgent for the Muslim Brotherhood to try to find a compromise with its political adversaries, and build a consensus on how best to modernise the country.