Photograph by Ahmad Hammoud
After ousting President Morsi, Egypt’s army has said that they will guarantee the right to peaceful protest ahead of large-scale planned demonstrations by the Muslim Brotherhood later today.
Interim leader Adly Mahmud Mansour has vowed to hold elections based on the “genuine people’s will” and invited the Muslim Brotherhood “to participate in building the nation”, although their spokesman, Gehad al-Haddad, has said that they will refuse to co-operate with the new undemocratic regime. The army has already suspended Morsi’s controversial constitution and plans to install a civilian technocratic government to help address some of Egypts economic and social issues during the transitional period under Manour’s leadership.
The army may support the right to protest, with Friday the traditional day for citizens to take to the streets, but they have also issued arrest warrants for around 300 Brotherhood members and already hold President Morsi and a number of top Brotherhood figures under arrest. They also closed down Brotherhood-operated television stations and arrested the managers in charge, essentially removing much of the Brotherhood’s official voice. The Brotherhood have said that they will now focus on “peaceful, people-led protest”, and area in which they have found much success over the years.
By refusing the co-operate with any future elections that are planned to be held within a year, however, the Brotherhood have also removed themselves from the political arena which they dominated only a few days ago, leaving the country more divided than ever. Instead they are focusing on “peaceful, people-led protest”, an area in which the Brotherhood has found much success over the years.
More than 50 people have died in clashes between anti-Morsi and Islamist groups since the unrest began on Sunday, and there is a fear that with the Brotherhood excluded from the political process both by the army and by themselves, issues may not be solved peacefully at the ballot box, but instead with violence on the streets.
However things progress on the ground, Morsi and 35 other leading Brotherhood figures are reportedly being charged with “insulting the judiciary”, and are being held under house arrest.
