Morsi accused of conspiring with Hamas; rival rallies held

By Ramadan Al-Fatash and Nehal El-Sherif, dpa
26.07.2013

   Cairo (dpa) - Egypt's former president Mohammed Morsi was accused Friday of conspiring with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as his supporters and those of the army chief who engineered his ouster held massive rallies.

   General Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi had warned of a crackdown on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and called on the public to signal their opposition to the deposed president and the group.   

   Morsi is facing charges of conspiring to help Hamas carry out "hostile acts" during the uprising that led to the ousting in 2011 of his predecessor Hosny Mubarak.

   A judge on Friday ordered Morsi be detained for 15 days, pending further investigation. He is in army custody at an undisclosed location.

   Morsi was overthrown by the army after millions called for his resignation. The Brotherhood is accused of inciting violence in the country.

   While expressing concern over Morsi's detention, the United States also said Friday it had determined that it isn't required to say whether his removal was a coup.

   "The law does not require us to make a formal determination ... as to whether a coup took place, and it is not in our national interest to make such a determination," US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

   The decision means US aid will continue to flow to Egypt, although the Pentagon said earlier this week it had decided not to go ahead with the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets because of the unrest in the country.

   On the former leader's detention, Psaki said: "We do believe that it is important that there be a process to work towards his release. Clearly this process should respect [his] personal security ... and take into account the volatile political situation in Egypt.

   She added: "We have conveyed publicly and privately that his personal security and treatment is of utmost importance."

   Tens of thousands of anti-Morsi protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where army tanks and armoured vehicles were deployed under pro-al-Sissi banners. Thousands more gathered near the presidential palace in the eastern Cairo neighbourhood of Heliopolis.

   "The army and police are our defenders against terrorism. In one year, Islamists, Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group ruined our country," Saeed Fawali, who travelled to Tahrir Square from Gharbiya in the Nile Delta, said.

   "I came here to mandate the army and its commander to fight terrorism in Sinai and other places in Egypt. We want to secure our children's future," Mahmoud Mohamed, a teacher from the northern province of Beheira, told dpa.

   Supporters of Morsi and the Brotherhood, meanwhile, congregated in the Rabaa al-Adawiya area of north-eastern Cairo. Army helicopters flew over the rival protest camps, throwing Egyptian flags to the demonstrators.

   Supporters of Egypt's first democratically elected president described his ousting as a coup. They have denounced al-Sissi's ultimatum as a "declaration of civil war" and vowed to continue protests until Morsi is reinstated.

   Three people were killed in fighting between Morsi's supporters and opponents in the northern city of Alexandria, and dozens were injured, a police official told dpa.

   He said 15 people had been arrested.

   In al-Arish city in Sinai, thousands rallying against Morsi carried posters of al-Sissi.

   Militants and security forces exchanged fire after armed men attacked a police station and four checkpoints with rocket-propelled grenades in Sheikh Zuwaid city, in northern Sinai.

   The army blames Hamas for near daily attacks on security forces in al-Arish over the past three weeks, attacks on security buildings, jailbreaks, the premeditated murder of police officers and abduction of others.     

   Security officials could not confirm any casualties.

   Dozens of people have been killed in clashes between Morsi backers and opponents around the country since his ouster. Ten people were injured in the Cairo district of Shubra on Friday, while six were injured in the northern city of Damietta.

   "Al-Sissi is a traitor. He is like Bashar al-Assad and Moamer Gaddafi. He will fight against his own people. We are not terrorists," shouted Hala, who was wearing the full-face veil. 

   At the peak of the uprising against Mubarak, Morsi and more than 30 other leaders of the then banned Brotherhood were detained in prison. They were freed along with other inmates in a raid by gunmen.

   In June a court found that the Brotherhood leaders had been freed "thanks to an international plot" involving Hamas, the Lebanese movement Hezbollah and local militants.

US envoy rules out Syrian scenario in Egypt, urges dialogue

Author: Nehal El-Sherif
15.07.2013

   Cairo (dpa) - The misery in Syria will not repeat itself in Egypt, US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Monday in Cairo, while calling for an end to the violence and the start of talks between rival factions.

   Burns is the first US official to visit the Egyptian capital since the army overthrew former president Mohammed Morsi.

   There are mounting concerns that the country could slide into a Syria-like civil war as it remains polarized between the Islamist supporters of Morsi and their opponents who backed his ouster.

   The high-level US diplomat held talks with interim president Adli Mansour and Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, the architect of Morsi's ouster. Both Salafist and secular groups refused to meet with him.

   Speaking to reporters after the meetings, Burns said that the United States does not favour certain figures in Egypt but remained on the side of the Egyptian people.

   He stressed Washington's commitment to help Egypt achieve democracy.

   Burns also met with prime minister designate Hazem Beblawy, who is expected to announce a transitional cabinet this week.

   Army chief al-Sissi and Burns discussed political developments and ways to improve cooperation between the countries, the army spokesman said in a brief statement.

   Al-Sissi announced a presidential handover on July 3, after millions took to the streets across Egypt demanding the Islamist president's removal from power.

   The army chief has defended his decision to depose Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, saying the military heeded the will of the people.

   The biggest Islamist party that backed Morsi's ouster, the Salafist al-Nour party, refused to meet with Burns, without giving a  reason, al-Ahram reported.

   Members of the grassroot movement Tamarod, or Rebellion, which organized the protests that led to Morsi's ouster, also refused an invitation to meet with Burns, the group's spokesman Mahmoud Badr said, accusing the US of supporting Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group.

   President Barack Obama avoided calling Morsi's ouster a coup, but many anti-Morsi Egyptians have expressed anger at Washington for not supporting their "revolution" against the brotherhood and the calls by some members of Congress to cut aid to Cairo.

   Pro-Morsi protesters have also criticized the US for not condemning Morsi's ouster.

   The US gives Egypt around 1.5 billion dollars of annual aid. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces - which ruled Egypt for 16 months after the fall of Hosny Mubarak in 2011 - receives around 1.3 billion dollars of them.  

   Protesters have repeatedly chanted against Obama and the US ambassador to Cairo, Anne W Patterson, in the past week.

   Burns, who will be in Cairo until Tuesday, will also meet civil society and business leaders.  

   "In all these meetings, he will underscore US support for the Egyptian people, an end to all violence, and a transition leading to an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government," the US State Department said on Sunday.

   Backers and opponents of Morsi plan mass rallies coinciding with the visit.

   Morsi remains in detention at a secret location. His Muslim Brotherhood group has vowed not to cooperate with the new government and wants Morsi reinstated.

   Egypt's prosecutors have frozen the assets of leading members of the Brotherhood, whose leaders also face charges of inciting violence. Dozens have been killed in clashes since the army's overthrow of Morsi.

   There has also been a rise in violence in the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

   Gunmen attacked a bus carrying workers in Sinai's town of al-Arish, killing three people and injuring 17, security and medical officials said.

   A security official said a rocket-propelled grenade fired by the gunmen missed a military vehicle guarding the bus.

Intensifying clashes in Egypt leave at least 51 killed

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

08.07.2013 19:35

   Cairo (dpa) - At least 51 people were killed Monday in Cairo in clashes between Islamist protesters and security forces, as tensions rose in Egypt after the military overthrew president Mohammed Morsi.

   The Egyptian Army said fighting broke out after an armed group attempted to storm a Republican Guard facility, where Morsi's supporters believe he is being held.

   "The scene stopped being peaceful," army spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali said. "The armed forces and police did not respond to the protesters but remained to protect the public institutions. We dealt with the angry protesters with restraint."

   He said that gunmen tried to penetrate the barbed wire surrounding the compound while snipers working in tandem fired from nearby rooftops, and showed videos of civilians carrying guns and throwing petrol bombs and stones at soldiers guarding the building.

   Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group said the army and police opened fire on supporters of the toppled president, killing more than 50 people.

   Interim president Adli Mansour has ordered an independent investigation into the violence.

   The violence amplifies the conflict between the army and supporters of the Brotherhood, who vowed to continue demonstrating until Morsi is restored to power.

   In a statement, the Brotherhood attacked army chief and Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, who led Morsi's overthrow, saying he was pushing Egypt toward civil war.

   "They attacked the people who were praying. They had their heads bowed to the ground, their backs to their trusted army," Brotherhood spokesman Gehad el-Haddad said.

   El-Haddad vowed the protests would continue.

   "They are trying to terrorize us off the squares and disperse us - we are not going to do that," he told dpa. "They are trying to drag us into a cycle of violence, and we are not going to do that."

   A pro-Morsi doctor said the army used live ammunition against the protesters.

   "What happened today shows us that we are not dealing with a normal regime. (This is) a regime allowing bloodshed of its own people, a regime responding to bare breasts of peaceful protesters by shooting at them," the doctor said.

   The Health Ministry said 435 people were injured. The army arrested 200 people for questioning.

   Clashes between rival protesters have killed 72 people since June 28, al-Ahram newspaper reported, citing the Health Ministry.

   "Violence begets violence and should be strongly condemned," Nobel Peace Prize laureate and prominent opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said on his Twitter account. "Independent investigation (is) a must. Peaceful transition is the only way."

   Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar, warned against civil war in Egypt and said he would go into seclusion as long as violence continued.

   The top Muslim cleric called for a transparent investigation, urged authorities to form a national reconciliation committee to stop the bloodshed and said that the transitional period should not be more than six months.

   The ultraconservative Salafist party al-Nour said it was withdrawing from talks with Egypt's new rulers on forming a government after the "massacre" at the military facility.

   "We decided to withdraw immediately from all negotiations in response to the Republican Guard massacre," al-Nour spokesman Nader Bakkar wrote on social networking sites. "We wanted to stop bloodshed, and now it is spilled in rivers."

   Al-Nour, which came second in Egypt's 2011 parliamentary elections, had backed the army's toppling of Morsi.

   The leader of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party, Ennahda, Rachid Ghannouchi condemned the killings as a "massacre."

   British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the violence, saying there was an "urgent need for calm and restraint."

   "It is crucial that there is a swift return to democratic processes in Egypt," he said. "All sides of the political spectrum should work together for the sake of the country's political and economic future."

   Developments in Egypt would be discussed among the European Union members this week and featured on the agenda on the July 22 foreign ministers' meeting, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in Brussels.

   "She calls on all sides, but particularly on the Interim Presidency and those in a position of authority and influence, to reach out to all political forces and to move rapidly toward reconciliation," Ashton said in a statement.

   In Washington, the White House indicated that 1.5 billion dollars in annual military and economic aid to Egypt would continue despite calls from some in Congress to halt support. Under US law, must freeze financial support to countries where democratically elected governments are ousted.

   "(We) think it would not be in the best interests of the United States to immediately change our assistance programs to Egypt," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

   He indicated that the interim government should get a chance to get Egypt back on the road to democracy and free elections.

different version

Media freedom in limbo as Egypt begins new transition

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

   Cairo (dpa) – The closure of Islamist TV channels in Egypt following the army ouster of president Mohammed Morsi has been slammed by rights groups as an attack on the freedom of expression, while lauded by others as an end to hate speech.

   At least four channels, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Misr25 and other Salafist broadcasters, were taken off air on Wednesday, minutes after Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi announced Morsi's overthrow.

   Security forces also raided Al Jazeera offices in Cairo and detained staff of the network's local channel, Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr. Most of them were released later. The Qatar-based network has been condemned by many observers for its pro-Morsi reporting.

   Millions of people who had taken to the streets demanding early presidential elections one year after the Brotherhood-backed Morsi came to power were happy to see the channels that branded Morsi's opponents as infidels, sinners and hypocrites unable to spread their message.

   A state-run printing house also refused to print the brotherhood's newspaper, Freedom and Justice daily.

   Local rights groups called the closures a violation of media freedom and one of its main foundations - the allowance for diversity of opinions.

   They added that holding those who incited violence was mandatory  through transparent legal procedures and called on authorities to respect principles of media freedom “irrespective of the political situation."

   Authorities defend the shutdown as a necessary measure to calm tensions in Egypt.

   Many Egyptians were thrilled by the move.

   “They channels should be permanently closed, and its anchors prosecuted for inciting all those killings with their hateful words,” said Salma, a 25-year-old accountant, who opposed Morsi.

   “Freedom of speech should have a limit, and the limit is attacking others in the name of religion.”

   The banned channels were known for their sharp criticism of the liberal and secular opposition, who mobilized the June 30 mass protests demanding Morsi's removal.

   "Others can call it politics, but for us it is religion. It is about Sharia, not about Morsi. We have 1,000 Morsis, because we follow a methodology," a cleric said as he spoke on the radical, pro-Morsi al-Hafez channel on July 1 - two days before the broadcaster was shut.

   He also attacked "some Christians" and said there were "weapons coming out of churches."

   The cleric emphasized the need for Egypt to enforce strict Sharia-based punishments, including cutting off thieves' hands and executing rapists.

   “If a hand of someone who stole the country was cut and hanged in the middle of a square, then all would-be thieves would not steal,” he said.
  
   The media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, said: “Inaugurating a new era ... with such an act of censorship is disturbing.”

   While there were complaints against these channels, the Egyptian Syndicate of Journalists opposed their shutdown, "because it encourages similar measures in the future,” said Abeer al-Saadi, a board member of the independent union.

   “We have to admit a revolution has taken place and a lot of changes are needed in all sectors. We know the level of media now is not up to the required standards. So, it is time to have self-regulations for media,” she told dpa.

   Army chief al-Sissi said Wednesday that a new media code of ethics would be adopted as part of the nation's post-Morsi roadmap to establish “values and ethics for the media to follow.”

   While his speech left many concerned about the future of media in Egypt's transitional period, al-Saadi believes a code of ethics, drafted by the syndicate, can help limit problems such as hate speech, while at the same time protect journalists from criticism by the public or security.

   She denies that such a charter will put restrictions on the media, and argues it will end arbitrary measures against journalists, like jail sentences and closing newspapers.

   “If we do not want these restrictive law, then we need to put our own rules. It is part of a plan designed to scrap all laws and replace them with new rules so that we can regain the respect of society,” Saadi added.

   Journalism professor, Laila Abdel-Meguid, told the independent al-Shorouk newspaper that she was against closure of channels "in principle" but under Egypt's "unusual circumstances", some Islamist channels played a role in inciting violence.
 
   "So taking them off air was in the interest of the country," Abdel-Meguid added.

Business Recorder

Morsi vows to stay in office, defends his legitimacy

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

published 03.07.2013   02:11

   Cairo (dpa) - Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said he will not step down and vowed to protect "constitutional legitimacy" with his life, as millions took to the streets nationwide demanding his ouster.

   "My life is the price for protecting the legitimacy," he said in a televised speech late Tuesday. "If my blood was the price to maintain legitimacy, then I am ready for this for the sake of this nation's stability."

   The national address came as an ultimatum by the Egyptian Army - for Morsi and rival factions to reach consensus or see military intervention to end the political stalemate - was due to expire Wednesday.

   "The people chose me," the Islamist president said. "The people designated me through free, clean elections."

   Egypt's first democratically elected president, Morsi blamed members of the former regime of ousted president Hosny Mubarak for inciting protests against him and violence in the streets.

   Morsi admitted shortcomings in his rule but said "corruption and remnants of the old regime" were hindering progress. His offer for dialogue with the opposition continues, said Morsi, who promised a series of measures including replacing the cabinet and holding parliamentary elections.

   After his 45-minute speech, opponents in central Cairo's Tahrir Square chanted "Leave!"

   The opposition demand Morsi's ouster and called for early presidential elections and drafting of a new constitution.

   Clashes erupted early Wednesday in another pro-government rally near Cairo University. State television reported several people killed and injured.

   Gun battles and street fighting left at least two people dead Tuesday as Morsi's supporters and opponents exchanged fire and clashed with knives and sticks in at least three areas of Giza province on the outskirts of Cairo.

   Thirty-three people were injured in the northern city of Alexandria in clashes with guns loaded with birdshot, health official Amr Nasr said.

   The southern city of Luxor saw clashes with guns and rocks as Egyptians rallied nationwide after rival political groups called for followers to take to the streets as the army's deadline approached.

   Morsi-allied Islamists insisted they did not initiate the fighting.

   "We will not resort to violence, but with peaceful methods we will stand by Morsi to our last breath," Ali Rifaei said as he joined a pro-government rally near Cairo University.

   They have vowed that Morsi would complete his four-year term, which ends in 2016.

   "Are you trying to tell me that my vote is worth nothing?" asked Ihab Rafi, a 43-year-old finance manager. "This is the core of the problem. We are not sheep. We are people."

   Morsi's opponents gathered in Tahrir Square and near two presidential palaces in Cairo.

   The largely secular opposition accuses Morsi of serving the interests of his Muslim Brotherhood group and failing to revive the economy.

   The military said Monday that it would announce measures by Wednesday to end the political stalemate.

   The opposition took the ultimatum to mean Morsi would be ousted, and Morsi's supporters called it a coup. The military denied such an interpretation and said it was aimed at pushing all political factions to reach a consensus.

   In what appeared as an attempt to appease anti-Morsi protesters, the army released footage taken by military helicopters of the masses that rallied against Morsi on Sunday, his first anniversary in office.

   Troops were shown training in the streets of the Red Sea city of Suez, according to footage on Al-Jazeera's Egyptian arm, Al-Jazeera Masr.

   Military helicopters flew over anti-Morsi rallies in Cairo for the third consecutive day.

   More than 20 people have been killed in clashes since Sunday. Protesters stormed Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo and torched the group's offices in other provinces.

   Human Rights Watch said security forces failed to deploy sufficient personnel in key locations despite anticipation of widespread violence.

   "Whatever happens over the next few days, all sides should take all possible steps to ensure that their supporters avoid violence and use of lethal force," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for the New York-based non-governmental organization.

   Adding more pressure on Morsi, Egypt's top appeals court upheld a decision to remove prosecutor general Talaat Abdullah, whose appointment in November angered judges and opposition groups.

   The opposition accused Abdullah of being biased for the ruling Islamists, citing investigations against journalists and activists critical of Morsi.

   On Monday, US President Barack Obama urged Morsi during a phone conversation to respond to the demonstrators' concerns.

   Obama "stressed that democracy is about more than elections; it is also about ensuring that the voices of all Egyptians are heard and represented by their government, including the many Egyptians demonstrating throughout the country," the White House said.

   The United Nations called on Morsi to "listen to the demands and wishes of the Egyptian people, expressed during these huge protests."

Army issues 48-hour ultimatum in Egyptian political feud

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa
02.07.2013   00:41

   Cairo (dpa) - The military will announce measures to end a political stalemate within 48 hours, Egypt's defence minister said Monday after protests and clashes between government supporters and opponents turned bloody.

   Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi's statement came as thousands of people protested in Cairo's Tahrir Square and in front of the presidential palace in eastern Cairo, remaining there after Sunday's demonstrations in which hundreds of thousands demanded the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.

   Many protesters complained of increasing prices, fuel shortages, electricity cuts and a lack of security since Morsi took power a year ago.

   It also came a week after al-Sissi set a week's deadline for a consensus between Morsi's supporters and opponents.

   "Yet this week passed without any gesture or action, leading people to take to the streets with insistence and freedom," al-Sissi said.

   It was not clear from his statement how far the military was willing to go to reassert order in the country, which has been in a regular state of turmoil since the 2011 ouster of former president Hosny Mubarak.

   Many of those who have taken to the streets have been calling on the army to take over again. Others demanded early presidential elections after the hoped-for ouster of Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ruled the country for a year and half after the uprising against Mubarak.

   "The armed forces reiterates its call to meet the demands of the people and gives everyone 48 hours as a last chance to bear the burden of such historical circumstances that the country is going through," al-Sissi said.

   "If the people's demands are not met within the specified deadline, the armed forces - based on its national and historical responsibility - will announce a plan for the future and a series of measures that it will supervise with the participation of all factions," he said.

   Thousands of demonstrators celebrated after the statement. They set off fireworks, cheered and sang the national anthem as at least five army helicopters flew across Cairo while carrying the Egyptian flag.

   "This is a great statement," Sayed, a 40-year-old businessman, said in Tahrir Square. "Morsi will be gone in two days."

   However, Islamist groups rejected the statement and called for "respecting the democratic elected legitimacy." They also called on their followers to take to the streets nationwide to support Morsi.

   Thousands of Morsi's supporters staged a sit-in around a mosque in eastern Cairo. They have vowed he would complete his four-year term.

   The army spokesman denied that al-Sissi's statement was meant as a military coup and said it was a response to the "pulse of the Egyptian street" and aimed to push all political factions to reach consensus.

   But an analyst said its message was not so cut and dried.

   "The statement is not clear," said Omar Ashour, director of Middle East Studies at the University of Exeter. "I guess that is part of the issue. They [the army] had control for more than a year, and they could not impose a vision."

   "It is not clear what they have to offer except a crackdown," he said. "Presumably, that would be on spoilers, on those resisting a compromise, but it is not clear that the army has the capacity or the will to do that."

   Ashour believes the Islamists behind Morsi will likely comply and try to reach a compromise.

   "The question is: Are there any serious political parties willing to compromise?" he said. "Those who believe that they are winning in terms of the streets may not be. Past experience has shown us that many of these politicians are extremely short-sighted and even megalomaniac."

   The Interior Ministry issued a statement saying "it has not and will not let down the Egyptians who rallied to express their opinions in a way that amazed the world."

   Clashes since Sunday left about 20 people dead, medical sources said. Twelve died when opposition protesters attacked the Cairo headquarters of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood.

   Several brotherhood offices have been torched since Wednesday as tensions have risen between Morsi's supporters and opponents in the lead-up to Sunday's rallies, which marked his first anniversary in office.

   Security forces Monday arrested several guards of Khairat al-Shater, seen as the most influential man in the brotherhood, after an exchange of fire near his house, a security source said.

   Al-Shater's son, Saad, told Al Arabiya broadcaster that police forces opened fire on their house in Cairo and arrested the driver.

   Members of the opposition Tamarod campaign, which called for Sunday's protests, welcomed al-Sissi's statement and vowed to continue their sit-in in various squares across the country.

   They gave Morsi an ultimatum - to resign by Tuesday - and called for more civil disobedience if he stays.

   The opposition has charged that Morsi is concerned only with tightening his Muslim Brotherhood's grip on power and has failed to address the country's economic and social problems.

earlier version of the story