Egypt braces for fresh mass protests
2013-02-01 12:39
Cairo - Egypt braced for mass rallies on Friday against
President Mohammed Morsi, after rival factions condemned a week of deadly
violence and pledged support for a national dialogue.
Planned marches will head to Cairo's Tahrir Square and to
the presidential palace, while rallies have also been organised in several
provinces.
The opposition National Salvation Front, which called for
the demonstrations, is demanding the formation of a new national salvation
government and the amendment of the Islamist-drafted constitution, which
polarised the nation when it was passed in December.
The rallies come after a week of deadly unrest that left
nearly 60 people dead, in the worst political crisis since Morsi came to power
in June.
The Islamist president is accused of betraying the
revolution that brought him to the presidency and of consolidating power in the
hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In a statement, the NSF said Egyptians would demonstrate
nationwide against "a regime that seeks to impose its will on the people
and is managing the country in the interest of the Brotherhood."
On Thursday, rival factions condemned the violence and
pledged support for a national dialogue.
Top Islamic scholar Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayyeb chaired talks
between liberal opposition heads, Islamists, youth groups, independents and
church members at the headquarters of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of
learning.
Serious dialogue
They signed an Al-Azhar document vowing to support "a
serious dialogue" and "condemn all forms of violence and incitement
to violence," and stressing "the responsibility of the state and its
security apparatus to protect citizens".
Opposition and NSF leader Mohamed ElBaradei, a former UN
nuclear watchdog chief, praised the Al-Azhar talks.
"We come out of these talks with some sort of
optimism" despite "the difficult challenges ahead," he told reporters.
"We will do whatever we can with goodwill to build the
trust of the Egyptian people."
Saad al-Katatni, head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and
Justice Party, stressed the need for compromise.
"There is no solution to the problems in our path to democracy
without dialogue... Dialogue must have guarantees but no preconditions,"
Katatni told reporters.
"All topics are up for discussion and all participants
said they were ready for compromises."
It remains to be seen whether the Al-Azhar document will
carry any weight on the street.
Even with few concrete points agreed, Thursday's talks
marked a blow for Morsi whose calls for dialogue were snubbed by the opposition
only last week.
Important step
In a statement, the presidency welcomed the document as
"an important step on the road to re-establishing stability".
The interior ministry said it respected "the right to
peaceful protest", but urged all political forces to ensure "a
peaceful and civilised" day, a spokesperson said.
Egypt has been gripped by unrest since rallies last week
marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled president Hosni
Mubarak.
The protests turned violent on Saturday after a Cairo court
sentenced 21 residents of the canal city of Port Said to death for their
involvement in football-related violence last year.
Friday's protests will mark one year since the Port Said
clashes that left 74 people dead.
