Egyptian President Morsi with military leaders. Tensions had escalated between the government and the army after the kidnapping of seven soldiers in the Sinai., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Ahram Online, Saturday 6 Jul 2013
Supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi plan protests Sunday to demand his reinstatement; rival rallies planned for same day to defend 'popular legitimacy'
Supporters and opponents of ousted president Mohamed Morsi – removed by the military earlier this week – plan rival demonstrations on Sunday, with the former demanding Morsi's reinstatement and the latter supporting Morsi's overthrow.
A coalition supporting Morsi's reinstatement has called for protests on Sunday to reject Wednesday's "military coup" against the elected president by Egyptian Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
The Muslim Brotherhood-led National Alliance in Support of Legitimacy, a group formed recently to support Morsi, has called for mass rallies to "Protect the revolution."
The Egyptian Armed Forces deposed Morsi after millions took to the streets on 30 June to demand early presidential elections. Morsi supporters say the army's move represents a violation of "democratic legitimacy."
In an earlier statement, the National Alliance in Support of Legitimacy declared that Morsi was still president and condemned the arrest of several high-profile Muslim Brotherhood members by security forces.
Many Egyptians welcomed the military intervention, with many celebrating when Morsi was replaced earlier this week by the head of Egypt's High Constitutional Court (HCC).
The military announced a "roadmap" in coordination with opposition parties, whereby presidential and parliamentary elections would be held and the constitution amended.
The roadmap fulfilled opposition demands as set down in a petition campaign to oust Morsi signed by millions – the impetus behind the 30 June protests. The 'Rebel' campaign had collected signatures nationwide to impeach Morsi and call for early presidential elections.
The campaign had recommended the appointment of the HCC head as interim president and the formation of a new technocratic government to oversee a transitional phase.
The Rebel campaign is also calling for Sunday protests, urging Egyptians to defend what they describe as "popular legitimacy" in an attempt to counter what their opponents insist is Morsi's democratic legitimacy.
Fears run high as clashes between supporters and opponents of the ousted president in several Egyptian cities on Friday led to at least 36 deaths.
Despite Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie's statement at a massive pro-Morsi rally in Cairo where he stressed the need for peaceful protest, supporters in many of the clashes were seen using weapons, as were their anti-Morsi opponents.
Residents of Cairo's middle-class Manial district said Morsi supporters were "heavily armed" and attacked them leaving at least seven dead, AFP reported.
Thousands of Manial residents took part in the funeral procession of those killed Friday.
The Brotherhood also held a funeral for those killed when Morsi supporters demonstrated Friday outside the headquarters of Egypt's presidential guard, believing Morsi was being held inside. They blame the military for killing several protesters.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/75888.aspx
Egypt premiership still vacant: Presidential media advisor
Saturday 6 Jul 2013
Presidential spokesman dismisses earlier reports that liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei had taken up job as new prime minister
Newly-appointed presidential media advisor Ahmed El-Moslimany said late Saturday that Egypt's premiership was still vacant, dismissing earlier reports that liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei had taken up the job.
"There are still consultations on who will be Egypt's prime minister," El-Moslimany, who was appointed presidential media advisor earlier the same day, told an impromptu press conference held at Cairo's Ittihadiya presidential palace.
He went on to say that ElBaradei was still in talks with interim president Adly Mansour.
The press conference at which El-Moslimany spoke was unscheduled. It replaced another that had been expected to be chaired by Mansour and ElBaradei to unveil the latter as new premier.
"Mansour has received ElBaradei among others for consultations over the post of prime minister," El-Moslimany added.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/75894.aspx
Egypt's FJP rejects ElBaradei appointment as PM
Ahram Online, Reuters, Saturday 6 Jul 2013
Senior official in Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) rejects Mohamed ElBaradei's Saturday appointment to Egypt's premiership
The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party on Saturday rejected Mohamed ElBaradei's appointment as Egypt's interim prime minister, as was announced earlier the same day, according to a senior party official.
"We reject this coup and everything that results from it, including ElBaradei," he told Reuters.
A presidential source on Saturday evening said that ElBaradei, general coordinator of the National Salvation Front opposition coalition, had already been assigned the post of prime minister.
"He accepted and will be sworn in shortly," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Ahram Online.
ElBaradei was among the liberal leaders who opposed Islamist president Morsi, deposed by the military on Wednesday following nationwide protests.
The overthrow prompted pro-Morsi demonstrations across the country.
ElBaradei has faced growing criticism among Islamists within the past year.
The development could heighten tensions on Sunday, when pro- and anti-Morsi demonstrations – both expected to number in the hundreds of thousands – will be held in Cairo.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/75887.aspx
'Revolution not coup': Anti-Morsi Egyptians tell CNN
Osman El Sharnoubi, Saturday 6 Jul 2013
After CNN was quick to characterise recent military intervention ousting president Mohamed Morsi as 'coup,' Egyptians on social networking sites accuse leading TV channel of bias
Leading US television channel CNN has come under severe attack by Egyptians on social networking sites, accusing the channel of bias against events unfolding in Egypt.
After millions took to the streets across the country on Sunday for a planned demonstration calling for early presidential elections, the military intervened to oust president Mohamed Morsi after he refused to fulfil the protesters' demands.
The intervention was immediately dubbed a coup by the then-ruling Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails, who have been demonstrating in the hundreds of thousands in his support. The characterisation was shared by CNN, whose coverage of events was subtitled, "Coup in Egypt: Military ousts Morsi."
Opponents of the president refused the categorisation. "It's a revolution, not a coup," said a Facebook page launched Friday entitled, "Obama supports terrorism in Egypt." The group quickly gained over 35,000 subscribers.
The opposition, who filled the iconic Tahrir Square and surrounded the presidential palace in Cairo last Sunday, are generally pleased with the army's move. The political "roadmap" set forth by the army was agreed upon in discussions with the opposition.
The roadmap included instating the head of Egypt's High Constitutional Court as interim president and forming a technocratic government until early presidential and parliamentary elections are held.
The roadmap was identical to the one called for by the anti-Morsi 'Rebel' campaign, the signature drive signed by Egyptians demonstrating on 30 June. For this reason, many were infuriated by CNN's insistence on dubbing what happened a "coup," accusing it of backing US policies in support of Morsi.
On Twitter, the hash-tag titled #CNN_STOP_Lying_About_Egypt trended in Egypt, showing the extent of antagonism that has grown against the channel.
Journalist Bassem Sabri posted the CNN logo emblazoned within the emblem of the Muslim Brotherhood as a sign depicting the channel's perceived adoption of the Brotherhood line.
The Brotherhood, for its part, immediately condemned the military's move, accusing it of overthrowing a legitimately elected president.
The ousted president's supporters, outraged at Morsi's ouster, took to the streets in Cairo and several other cities carrying pictures of the president, who is detained in an unknown location, and demanding his release and reinstatement.
One of the pro-Morsi rallies made it to Tahrir Square, where an anti-Morsi demonstration was being held, leading to clashes that left many dead.
Armed clashes between Morsi supporters and opponents erupted in many cities – some of a sectarian nature in Upper Egypt –after the Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badei made a speech at the supporters' main rally on Friday urging them to remain peaceful.
The violent events of Friday night added fuel to the fire, prompting Twitter users to react and use the anti-CNN hash-tag to accuse the US of supporting violent groups.
"#CNN_STOP_Lying_About_Egypt where do u stand on the attacks against churches, Copts right now by MB and their Jihadists in Upper Egypt today," Egyptian film director Amir Ramses tweeted.
"A terrorist carrying "Al Qaeda" flag killed 2 boys! These are the kind of people #Obama supports! #CNN_STOP_Lying_About_Egypt #not_a_coup," Twitter user @anisem001 said.
He shared a video – recently gone viral on Twitter and Facebook – allegedly showing Islamists brutally throwing two teenage boys off a tall steeple on a roof during Friday's clashes. One of the attackers wore a long beard and was carrying the famous black Al-Qaida flag.
The video was shared on CNN's official Facebook page, which was riddled by statements by users insisting what happened in Egypt was a revolution not a coup.
"It's a revolution not a coup ... the people wanted him out and the military responded to the crowds ... [Morsi] was not a successful president ... he did not represent the people of Egypt ... the masses wanted him out and so he is out ... it was a revolution," Nelly Ashraf Ghazy wrote on the CNN's wall.
The 'Rebel' campaign is calling for mass protests on Sunday to support what it said was "popular legitimacy."
The campaign called for mass protests on its official Facebook page, asserting that "there are clear attempts to distort our glorious revolution, attempts to depict popular will as a military coup which could lead to intervention by foreign powers in Egypt's internal affairs."
The president's supporters and the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) insist Morsi is still president.
"We will not leave the streets or squares of all #Egypt except when we r carrying our elected legitimate prez on our shoulders back in prez office [sic]," the FJP's Gehad El-Haddad asserted on Twitter.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/75881.aspx
'Heavily armed Islamists attacked us': Cairo residents
AFP, Saturday 6 Jul 2013
Eyewitnesses: the violence that erupted in Cairo's Manial neighborhood that killed at least seven tell their testimony
Residents of Cairo's Manial neighbourhood were recovering Saturday from a bloody night of clashes with armed supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood who killed at least seven people and left dozens injured, they told AFP.
The violence erupted when residents tried to stop hundreds of Islamists passing through Manial to reach protests being staged in the iconic Tahrir Square against toppled president Mohamed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood.
"The Brotherhood attacked the area with all kinds of weapons," said resident Mohammed Yehya, who lost three of his friends in the mayhem.
Inhabitants of the Nile island of Manial reported seeing dozens of bearded Islamists armed with machineguns, machetes and sticks on Friday night before the deadly clashes broke out.
Snipers were spotted on rooftops, and medics told AFP they treated some residents of the normally quiet middle-class neighbourhood for bullet wounds with a downward trajectory.
Buildings were pockmarked with bullet holes. Rocks carpeted the floor and charred tyres showed the ferocity of the violence.
The clashes in Manial and other parts of the country came two days after the army toppled Morsi, underlining the determination of his Muslim Brotherhood to disrupt the military's plan for a political transition until new elections.
Residents say the attack began just minutes afer the Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohammed Badie, gave a fiery speech to Morsi supporters camped out in Cairo's Nasr City, which was broadcast live on television.
"The attack came minutes after Badie's speech. They treated us like infidels. They were chanting 'Allahu akbar' (God is greatest) as they were shooting us," said Ahmed Fattouh.
On the door of one shop hung a sign announcing that the owner, 26-year-old Abdallah Sayyed Abdelazim, had been killed.
Parts of Manial were a ghost town on Saturday, with businesses shuttered and residents devastated by the night's violence.
"The clashes started at 7:30 pm and continued until three in the morning. Their ammunition just didn't run out. They are trying to terrorise us and take over the country," said Khaled Tawfik.
Shopkeeper Mohammed Fekry, 29, who was wounded by birdshot said at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured.
"We have 10 people dead in this area, including six people who died with single bullets in the head. There were snipers on the roof of the Salaheddine mosque," Fekry said.
Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters, he said, had come from Cairo University -- where they had been camped out for days to defend Morsi's legitimacy -- with "automatic weapons, machineguns, knives, swords".
They were headed to Tahrir Square, where anti-Morsi protesters had gathered, but the Manial residents tried to prevent their passage.
Hend Taha said she saw the clashes from the window of her apartment.
"There were bearded snipers on top of Salaheddine mosque. On the ground, lots of bearded men coming from the direction of Cairo University were marching with automatic weapons," she said.
The overall toll for Friday's violence across Egypt was 30, but casualties are likely to rise.
Ihab al-Sayyed, a doctor at Qasr al-Aini hospital, told AFP that seven people he treated for injuries from the Manial clashes had died.
"I think the death toll will be much higher.
"The injuries were all from live bullets, most of them automatic weapons. Three of the dead and dozens of the injured were shot at from a height," the doctor said.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/75852.aspx
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