The national reconciliation session begins in Egypt with Muslim Brotherhood boycotting the meeting

Adly Mansour, Egypt's interim President

Egypt’s national reconciliation session aimed to gather the representatives of different political forces, social factions and intellectuals of Egypt and discuss the current political situation in the country in order to find the solution and unity started on Wednesday, 24 July.

The meeting was initiated and led by Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour and has been held at the Presidential Palace in Cairo. The session was attended by Mohamed ElBaradei, who is holding the position of the Vice President during the transitional period, and also by the representatives of Al-Azhar, the highest Islamic authority in Egypt, of the Egypt’s Coptic Church, representatives of several political parties and forces of Egypt and also intellectuals.

The invitations to participate in the national reconciliation dialog have been sent to several Egyptian powers and parties including Muslim Brotherhood which totally rejected the invitation and denied the possibility of any negotiations and talks with the Interim President and Interim Government of the country as they consider them being illegitimate and supporting “the coup against Mohamed Morsy” whom they see as the only one legitimate, democratically elected President of Egypt and demand his reinstatement.

Muslim Brotherhood and its supports have been holding the massive protests and sit-ins in Cairo and nationwide demanding Mohamed Morsy to be reinstated in power, the suspended Constitution to be put in power and the Shura Council to renew its work. The claim their protests actions will continue until their demands will be met. Thus, the Muslim Brotherhood representatives boycotted the reconciliation meeting though they’ve also received an official invitation.

According to the presidential sources, the invitations to participate in the national dialogue have been directed to the most of secular and liberal political powers and organizations including National Salvation Front, the umbrella oppositional group which backed the 30 June Revolution which overthrown Mohamed Morsy, Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Al-Wafd Party and others. Salafist forces such as Al-Nour Party and Al-Watan Party have also received the invitations to take a part in the talks.

The lists of those invited included also prominent intellectuals, representatives of Arab tribes, different unions and secular members of the now dissolved Shura Council (Upper House of Egypt’s Parliament).

The representatives of Egypt’s Armed Forces and judiciary haven’t been invited as they represent the organizations being above the political conflicts and that’s why they cannot be a part of the national reconciliation dialogue, stated the Presidential spokesman during the press conference.

The national reconciliation session started amid the ongoing clashes between Mohamed Morsy’s supporters and his opponents and security forces in Cairo and all over Egypt and also after the official statement made by Egypt’s Head of Armed Forces Abdel Fattah El-Sissi calling for the nationwide protests to be held on Friday in order to support the armed forces and give them the mandate to start the “war against terrorism” in Egypt referring to the recent violence in the country including daily attacks against the soldiers and security forces in the restive Sinai Peninsula.