El-Sisi protest call 'not pretext for army to use violence'

[DJKeefy]

Protests against terrorism on Friday are not intended to give the army free rein to clampdown on certain groups in society, army spokesperson Ahmed Ali has said.

These protests would form part of the framework for national reconciliation and transitional justice, he insisted.

Army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called for mass demonstrations on Friday to give the military a mandate to crackdown on "violence and terrorism."

Ali said El-Sisi's call was "only an initiative to confront violence and terrorism" against national security and was not an invitation to target particular groups as "some public personalities have claimed in the media."

El-Sisi's call for mass action were made amid continued clashes between supporters and opponents of former president Mohamed Morsi since the army deposed him on 3 July following mass nationwide protests. These clashes left dozens dead and hundreds injured.

On Tuesday, an explosive device went off at a police station in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, the capital of Daqahliya governorate, killing at least one conscript and injuring 19, stoking fear of a possible spike in violence.

50 supporters of the ousted president and an officer were killed during clashes outside the Republican Guard headquarters on 8 July.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/77280.aspx

[Who2]

Talking to the West Bank locals Gourna and Baiyrat they are all going over tomorrow to support the Army so they might sort out their differences at the same time. Always remember most men here have done their Army service...good luck to them and the Army...
Ps: have you noticed how beards are fast losing their fashion...

[BENNU]

Ps: have you noticed how beards are fast losing their fashion...

I am not in Egypt now, but I was wondering..

[Hafiz]

Street protests to form part of reconciliation. Really! Nothing like a protest to calm things down! In the current climate protests cause violence, he knows that and everyone knows that it has been the army in the past few weeks which have committed the greatest, and unprovoked, violence.

His speech at the army base a day or so ago, looking like a South American dictator full of decorations on his breast (which war did he get them in) and the silly military hat that tells you its a dictatorship, said that the demonstrations were to give a "mandate" to the army/new government which is entirely another thing. How can you possibly get reconciliation when you have the leadership of the previous government in 'detention'. Will the people of Egypt go the streets whenever any leader calls them out.

A detailed analysis of this speech which paints an entirely different picture of motives and tone follows:

Robert Fisk, of the London Independent newspaper, and the ‘greatest living expert on the middle east’ has very recently decamped to Egypt and given a boozy interview on Australian TV. His views on the current situation seem to be based entirely on personal conversations with liberal Cairo friends but his conclusions are as interesting as they are selective.

He believed there would be no civil war but that Sisi’s recent speech had alienated many moderates by its harshness, use of strong language and implacable tone. Quoted/ideas from Fisk included: disturbing and distressing speech – (speech) abusive of Morsi – using the calling for a demonstrating to do the army’s dirty work, liberals and intellectuals preferred the army to democracy, Egyptians don’t seem to understand that there has been a military coup, the Morsi government was not inclusive etc.

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/ ... 811319.htm

I suspect that, along with everyone else, he is unable to predict where all this is going but his view on waning middle class Cairo support is interesting.

You realize that emotions are running high when one of the leaders of Tamarud (the group that collected the petition calling for Morsi’s removal) says to the press: “Tomorrow we will cleanse Egypt….” Whoever said street protests were unsubtle!

Bafflingly Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, head of Egypt's top Islamic institute Al-Azhar is supporting the Sisi’s call for the demonstration to give the army a mandate. Normally you would have expected him to support the brotherhood. Al Tayeb hails from Luxor although that has nothing to do with anything. Next the Coptic Pope will be calling his people out which will be really helpful.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/2 ... 3O20130726

Maybe Egyptians should show greater wisdom that their political and religious leaders and refuse to go to the streets and thereby force their political leaders to do the hard work of private negotiation and reconciliation. Politics via foghorns or 'my demonstration is bigger than yours' can only lead one way and that is not reconciliation. If government in Egypt is to be via the loudest/biggest voice then it will end badly.