 |
| Abdel Fattah El-Sissi, Egypt's Defense Minister and Army Chief Commander |
Egyptian political powers and different groups remain divided over the
call of Egypt’s Armed Forces Head and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah El-Sissi to
hold the Friday marches all over Egypt to support army in its fight with
violence and terrorism.
We would remind here that Egypt’s Chief Commander of Armed Forces
General Abdel Fattah El-Sissi has called on Wednesday during his speech at the
Alexandria military academy for the Egyptians to take to the squares and
streets of Cairo and other governorates nationwide for the Friday protests in order
to support the military and security forces and “to give the mandate for the
war against violence and terrorism” in the country.
This statement came amid the continuous violent clashes between the supporters
of Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsy and loyalists of Muslim Brotherhood
and his opponents and security forces as well. The violent clashes erupted
between the protesters since the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist President of 3 July
have taken dozens of lives and left hundreds injured.
In addition to that the situation on the restive Sinai Peninsula which suffers
from security vacuum and terrorist activity since the withdrawal of Egypt’s
longstanding President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 remains extremely tense and
dangerous with the attacks of the armed militants against army and police on a
daily basis.
The call of General El-Sissi for Egyptians to stage the protests on
Friday, 26 July, in all the Egyptian governorates in attempt to support the
state’s military in its actions against the violence and terrorism met
different reactions with some political forces and groups supporting this call
and other forces denouncing it as inappropriate in the current situation in the
country.
Thus several political groups and powers backing 30 June revolution,
including the massive Rebel movement, have supported the initiative of El-Sissi
declaring they will participate in the Friday demonstrations.
Meanwhile April 6th Movement, one of the most significant
revolutionary groups in the country, has denounced the call of General El-Sissi
and stated their members will not take a part in the Friday rallies against
terrorism. In their official statement they claim Egypt’s Armed Forces and
Police have the highest duty to defend the people and keep security and peace
and they don’t need any other mandates and additional measures such as
demonstrations in attempt to gain the popular support. In addition to that any
measures like that on the current could cause more violence and deepen the
crisis in the country making the reconciliation process and possible talks with
the opponents almost impossible.
Egypt’s Al-Nour Party, the biggest Salafist party which backed the army
decision to oust Mohamed Morsy has also denounced the call of General El-Sissi.
They claim this call is the call for mobilization which could spark more
violence as there is a threat of targeting specific groups of society. Such
measures will not help the reconciliation process in Egypt and could only drag
Egypt into civil war.
The Revolutionary Socialists have also rejected and denounced the call
of El-Sissi for Friday mass demonstrations claiming this move being a threat to
the country’s security.
Meanwhile Egypt’s Interim President Adly Mansour made a statement
through his official spokesperson calling for Egyptian citizens of different
political and ideological views to remain peaceful and avoid any violence and
escalation during the Friday protests.
Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawy has also urged Egyptians
to stay peaceful and to reject any violence.
Egypt’s armed and security forces in their turn have deployed the
additional troops and military vehicles in the city to protect the people and public
and private property and guarantee security during the protests.
No comments:
Post a Comment