Egypt army permits 'peaceful protest'
amid Morsi anger

Egypt army permits 'peaceful protest'
amid Morsi anger 5 July 2013 Last updated at 10:39 Egypt's army has said it will guarantee the right to peaceful protest, ahead of the traditional day for major rallies. Muslim Brotherhood supporters are expected to rally on Friday after the army deposed President Mohammed Morsi. New interim leader Adly Mahmud Mansour, the top judge of Egypt's constitutional court, has pledged to hold elections based on "the genuine people's will". Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al-Haddad said it refused to co-operate with the new regime. Mr Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, is in detention, as are senior figures in the Brotherhood, the Islamist group of which he is a member. Arrests warrants have been for some 300 others. Early on Friday, one soldier was reported killed after Islamist militants attacked military and police checkpoints in the Sinai Peninsula with rockets and mortar fire. Security checkpoints at al-Arish airport, near the border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, and a police station in Rafah were targeted, officials said. Sinai has seen a series of militant attacks on security installations and oil pipelines over the past two years and it is unclear whether the latest attacks are linked to the political upheaval. 'Back to dictatorship' The removal of Mr Morsi followed days of mass protests, organised by the Tamarod [Rebel] movement. Protesters accused Mr Morsi and the Brotherhood of pursuing an Islamist agenda against the wishes of the majority and of failing to tackle economic problems. The army said it had to respond after Mr Morsi "failed to meet the demands of the people". The army command has said it will not take "arbitrary measures against any faction or political current" and would guarantee the right to protest, as long as demonstrations did not threaten national security. "Peaceful protest and freedom of expression are rights guaranteed to everyone, which Egyptians have earned as one of the most important gains of their glorious revolution," it said. Mohamed ElBaradei - a leading opposition figure who backed the overthrow of Mr Morsi - said the army's intervention had been "a painful measure" but was on behalf of the people and ultimately averted civil war. "Mr Morsi unfortunately undermined his own legitimacy," he told the BBC. He said the army had no intention of ruling the country and that elections would be held within a year at the most. Mr ElBaradei also said he had urged the military to treat Mr Morsi with "full dignity as a former president" and that he hoped Muslim Brotherhood members would be released from prison soon. Some of those held, including Mr Morsi, are being charged with "insulting the judiciary", and the public prosecutor's office told AFP news agency travel bans had been placed on 35 senior leaders. At his news conference, Mr Haddad declared the Brotherhood's "full refusal and revoking of the military coup" and said it would take part in all "peaceful, people-led protest". He demanded Mr Morsi's immediate release, along with the other detainees. Mohamed Soudan, foreign relations secretary for the Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), said the army action was moving Egypt.

"back to the dictatorship regime"
"As soon as they start to arrest the people without any court verdict or prosecution verdict, order, then this is away from democracy," he told the BBC. A coalition of Islamist parties - the National Coalition in Support of Legitimacy - has called for mass demonstrations to denounce the army's actions following Friday prayers. The African Union's Peace and Security council is
meeting in Friday in Addis Ababa to discuss Egypt.

Officials have indicated it could suspend Egypt's membership, in line with its policy on
unconstitutional changed in government.

Arrest warrants
Some 50 people have died since the latest unrest began on Sunday. There are continuing fears of confrontation
between the pro- and anti-Morsi blocs, with reports that Morsi supporters in a town north of Cairo have been set upon and badly beaten.


m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23192472