African Union Suspends Egypt After Military Coup

Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the new African Union Commission Chair. Dlamini-Zuma attended the recent Southern African Development Community summit in Mozambique., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

African Union suspends Egypt after Morsi ouster: official

AFP, Friday 5 Jul 2013

The AU met Friday at its headquarters in the Ethiopian capital to discuss the political crisis in Egypt

The African Union suspended Egypt on Friday after the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi, in line with its strict rules against unconstitutional changes of government.

The pan-African bloc's Peace and Security Council "decided to suspend the participation of Egypt in AU activities until the restitution of constitutional order", said an official statement.

The AU met Friday at its headquarters in the Ethiopian capital to discuss the political crisis in Egypt, following Morsi's removal by the army on Wednesday.

"The council reiterates the AU's condemnation and rejection of any illegal seizure of power," the statement added.

"The overthrow of the democratically elected president does not conform to the relevant provisions of Egypt's constitution, and therefore falls under the definition of an unconstitutional change of government."

AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, speaking to reporters after the decision, said Egypt would be suspended "until there is an election, which would obviously be the expression of the will of Egyptian people."

But she also offered AU support to "the Egyptian people for a better life" and said that "the sooner they can come back, the better for all of us."

However, Mohamed Edrees, Egyptian ambassador to the AU, said ahead of the decision that "the voice and the call of tens of millions of Egyptians must be heard, understood and respected".

Speaking Friday before the suspension, Edrees said that Egypt wanted to maintain its role in the AU and "continue to take part in this family".

"The military role is to support the people, their role is not to instigate a coup," Edrees added.

"Since the start of the Arab spring, it posed a challenge to the instrument of the African Union. The AU, at that time, the council decided that what happened in Egypt was a popular revolution and it dealt with it accordingly."

The bloc has previously suspended members which broke its rule against unconstitutional changes of government, most recently in March when it suspended the Central African Republic after rebels seized power.

Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau are also suspended.

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African Union suspends Egypt after Morsi ouster

Fri Jul 5, 2013 1:35PM GMT
presstv.ir

A senior official of the African Union (AU) says the Union has suspended Egypt membership after the military ousted president, Mohamed Morsi.

Admore Kambudzi, Secretary of AU Peace and Security Council, said on Friday that Egypt was suspended from all its activities until it restores constitutional order.

"As mandated by the relevant AU instruments, the African Union Peace and Security Council decides to suspend the participation of Egypt in AU activities until the restoration of constitutional order," Kambudzi said after an AU meeting.

Suspension is the AU's usual response to any interruption of constitutional rule in a member state.

The move comes two days after the army ousted Morsi in response to protesters’ demands for his resignation.

The North African country is now headed by its top judge Adly Mansour for an interim period.

In the meantime, Morsi’s supporters continue their rallies calling for his reinstatement. They are staging a mass demonstration in Cairo’s Nasr City. The angry protesters have promised to fight to the death until their elected president is brought back to power.

The Egyptian army has deployed tanks near the Presidential Palace and in Nasr City.

Several arrest warrants have also been issued for members of Muslim Brotherhood to which Morsi belongs.

In another development, the military announced state of emergency in south of Sinai and Suez Canal regions following an attack by gunmen on an airport in the Sinai town of El-Arish.

Morsi is reportedly being held “preventively” by the military. An army official said he might face formal charges over accusations made by his opponents.