Egypt's
military-backed interim government has ordered police to end sit-in
protests in Cairo by supporters of deposed president Mohammed Morsi,
declaring them a threat to national security.
Egypt's
cabinet Wednesday ordered a police crackdown on protests by ousted
president Mohamed Morsi's loyalists, as European envoys headed for Cairo
to try to ease tensions between the army-installed government and
Islamists.
The order to the interior minister raised the
prospect of a dangerous showdown just days after 82 people were killed
at a pro-Morsi protest in Cairo.
It came as diplomatic efforts to
find a peaceful way out of Egypt's crisis gathered pace, with the EU and
Germany sending envoys to urge a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
Adding
to the tensions, judicial sources said prosecutors had referred the
Muslim Brotherhood's fugitive supreme guide, Mohammed Badie, to trial
for allegedly inciting the killing of protesters.
The cabinet's
announcement came in a statement that said pro-Morsi protest camps at
two Cairo squares were posing a "threat to national security."
"The
continuation of the dangerous situation in Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda
squares, and consequent terrorism and road blockages, are no longer
acceptable given the threat to national security," it said.
"The
government has decided to take all necessary measures to confront and
end these dangers, and tasks the interior minster to do all that is
necessary in this regard, in accordance with the constitution and law,"
the statement said.
That was met with immediate defiance by the
Islamists, who have been camped out for weeks calling for the
reinstatement of Morsi, Egypt's first Islamist president elected last
year.
"Nothing will change," said Gehad El-Haddad, a Brotherhood
spokesman for the coalition protesting Morsi's overthrow, dismissing the
order as an "attempt to terrorise Egyptians."
Reacting to the announcement, Washington urged Egypt to "respect the right of peaceful assemblies."
"That obviously includes sit-ins," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.
Read More and Watch Video Here
****************************************************************************
Pro-Morsi camps vow to stay despite Egypt government promise of safe exit
Muslim Brotherhood says promise of protection for supporters who leave before Cairo crackdown cannot be taken seriously
-
- The Guardian, Thursday 1 August 2013 13.54 EDT
Link to video: Inside Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
Protesters camped in Cairo in support of ousted Egyptian president
Mohamed Morsi
have pledged to remain in position despite the new government claiming
they would be granted a safe exit if they left before a planned
crackdown.
Egypt's
interim cabinet mandated the country's police force on Wednesday to
disperse two pro-Morsi camps, which have each been in place for a month,
prompting fears of a third state-led massacre of Morsi supporters in as
many weeks.
On Thursday, the interior ministry encouraged the
protesters to close the camps of their own accord by promising that any
Morsi supporter who left before the police operation would be given safe
passage.
"The interior ministry … calls on those in the squares
of Rabaa al-Adawiya and Nahda to listen to the sound of reason, side
with the national interest and quickly leave," interior ministry
spokesman Hany Abdel-Latif said in a televised statement.
"Whoever responds to this call will have a safe passage and protection," he added.
But a spokesman for the
Muslim Brotherhood
said they could not take the government's promise seriously, given the
continuing crackdown against the Islamist grouping, many of
whose members have been arrested since Morsi's removal on 3 July.
Read More and Watch Video Here
****************************************************************************
Anti-coup protesters to march on army headquarters in Cairo
Fri Aug 2, 2013 9:49PM GMT
Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi say they will march on two army headquarters in the capital Cairo.
The
Anti-Coup Pro-Democracy Alliance, which is one of the largest political
formations in Egypt, announced on Friday evening that it would organize
marches on four security buildings, including two army headquarters, in
Cairo.
The alliance also said that it planned to make Alf Maskan a new sit-in site in the capital.
The
alliance was formed in response to the ouster of Morsi, the country’s
first democratically elected president, in a military coup in early
June.
Earlier in the day, thousands of anti-coup protesters held several demonstrations in and around Cairo.
****************************************************************************
