Egypt military calls for dialogue
2012-12-08 14:58
Cairo - Egypt's military on Saturday urged rival political forces to
solve their disputes via dialogue and said the opposite would drag the country
into a "dark tunnel", which it would not allow.
A statement by the military spokesperson read on state media made no
mention of President Mohammed Morsi, but said a solution to the political
crisis roiling the most populous Arab nation should not contradict
"legitimacy and the rules of democracy".
Egypt has plunged ever deeper into crisis since Morsi, who was freely
elected in June, decreed himself wide powers on 22 November and pushed ahead
with plans for a referendum next Saturday on a constitution drafted by an
Islamist-dominated assembly.
The army's duty was to protect national interests and secure vital state
institutions, the military said. Egyptians could express their views "far
from all displays of violence".
The statement, the army's most direct remarks so far on the the
political confrontation between the Islamist president and his liberal
opponents, was issued while protesters were still camped out by the gates of
the presidential palace.
But it did not appear to indicate that the army, which ran Egypt for
months after Hosni Mubarak's overthrow last year, was planning to retake
control of the country or its turbulent streets.
Power behind presidents
A military source said the statement did not signal any plan for an
intervention in politics or a broad role on the streets.
A senior Muslim Brotherhood official welcomed the army's remarks as
"balanced" and neutral. Former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, now an
opposition leader, said the army was simply responding to an "enormously
dangerous situation".
The military was the power behind all previous presidents and an army
council temporarily took over after Mubarak's fall. However, Morsi pushed the
generals aside in August and they had shown little appetite to intervene in
Egypt's latest crisis.
"The armed forces affirm that dialogue is the best and only way to
reach consensus," the statement said. "The opposite of that will
bring us to a dark tunnel that will result in catastrophe and that is something
we will not allow."
The state-run daily al-Ahram earlier reported that Morsi would soon
authorise the military to help police keep order and give it powers of arrest
under a decree approved by the cabinet. It did not say when the decree would be
issued.
The instability in Egypt worries the West, especially the United States,
which has given Cairo billions of dollars in military and other aid since it
made peace with Israel in 1979.
'Leave'
The tens of thousands of Morsi foes who surged past tanks and barbed
wire to reach the palace gates on Friday night had dispersed, but a hard core
stayed overnight in a score of tents.
Some had spray-painted "Down with Morsi" on tanks of the elite
Republican Guard posted there after clashes between rival groups killed at
least seven people and wounded 350 this week.
Others draped the tanks with posters of Morsi and the word
"Leave" scored across his face in red letters.
"We are no longer calling for scrapping the decree and delaying the
referendum," Samir Fayez, a Christian protester at the palace, said.
"We have one demand in five letters: Leave."
Nearby, a Morsi supporter named Mohamed Hassan was quietly observing the
scene. He suggested that the Muslim Brotherhood and its ultra-orthodox Salafi
Islamist allies could easily overwhelm their foes if they chose to do mobilise
their base.
"The Brotherhood and Salafis by themselves are few but they have
millions of supporters who are at home and haven't taken it to the streets
yet," murmured the 40-year-old engineer.
'Hate us, but talk to us'
The Muslim Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohamed Badie, denounced
opposition protests that have swirled around the walls of the Morsi's palace,
saying they "ruin legitimacy".
Badie said eight people, all of them Brotherhood members, had been
killed this week and urged the interior minister to explain why police had
failed to prevent assailants from torching the organisation's headquarters and
28 other offices.
"Get angry with the Brotherhood and hate us as much as you like,
but be reasonable and preserve Egypt's unity," he told a news conference.
"We hope everyone gets back to dialogue."
The turmoil has exposed deep divisions over the destiny of a country of
83 million where the removal of Mubarak 22 months ago led to a messy army-led
transition, with the Brotherhood and its allies winning two elections.
The well-organised Brotherhood, which pushed Morsi from obscurity to
power, remains his surest source of support, with over 80 years of religious
and political struggle behind it.
Possibility of delay
Morsi was to host a "national dialogue" later on Saturday to
chart a way forward, but opposition leaders have vowed to stay away unless he
cancels his decree and defers the referendum.
Late on Friday, Prime Minister Hisham Kandil urged political forces to
take "courageous and constructive steps" by calling off protests and
joining the dialogue without preconditions.
Mursi's vice president has floated the possibility that the 15 December
vote on a constitution opposed by liberals, leftists, Christians and others
might be delayed. But the concession would fall far short of meeting all the
opposition's demands.
While the main opposition coalition is boycotting, Morsi's dialogue
might be joined by some senior judges or politicians such as Ayman Nour, who
was trounced when he ran for president in 2005, the only multi-candidate race
of the Mubarak era.
