• Morsi issues ominous warning to Egypt opposition

    By Tom Perry, Reuters

    Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi threatened on Sunday to take unspecified steps to "protect this nation" after violent demonstrations against his Muslim Brotherhood, using vague but severe language that the opposition said heralded a crackdown.

    In remarks following clashes outside the Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters on Friday, Morsi warned that  would be taken against any politicians shown to be involved in what he described as violence and rioting.

    "If I am forced to do what is required to protect this nation, then I will do it. And I fear that I might be on the verge of doing it," Morsi said in a statement. He did not elaborate.

    Morsi has faced increasing anger since the Brotherhood propelled him to power in a June election, and several spates of protest have turned into violent riots.

    The president's opponents accuse him and the Brotherhood of seeking to dominate the post-Hosni Mubarak era and resorting to undemocratic police powers two years after autocrat Mubarak was brought down by popular protests.

    The brotherhood accuses its secularist opponents of stirring trouble to seize power they could not win at the ballot box, and says the relentless civil unrest is wrecking efforts to salvage an economy driven to its knees by uncertainty.

    "They are very scary comments," said Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the National Salvation Front (NSF), an alliance of non-Islamist parties formed late last year to oppose Morsi.


    "I can see language that is heading towards taking some suppressive measures," he added.

    Dozens of people were hurt on Friday when several thousand supporters and opponents of the Brotherhood fought near the Islamist group's headquarters.

    RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE

    Dawoud said the NSF was not behind those protests, but added that some of its members may have decided to take part.

    Morsi said everyone had the right to peaceful protest, but "what is happening now has nothing to do with the revolution".

    "I urge all political forces not to provide any political cover for acts of violence and rioting. I will not be happy if investigations prove the guilt of some politicians," he said in the remarks, which were published on his Twitter account.

    "Some are using the media to incite violence and those whose involvement is proven will not escape punishment," he added. "Anyone who takes part in incitement is a partner in the crime."

    He also spoke of attempts to portray the state as weak but said these had failed: "The apparatus of the state are recovering and can deter any law breaker," he added.

    Exactly what new steps Morsi is considering became the subject of speculation.

    In late January, he declared a state of emergency rule in three cities near the Suez Canal to combat a wave of violence there. A declaration of a state of emergency elsewhere is unlikely, said Yasser El-Shimy, Egypt analyst for the International Crisis Group, adding arrests were more probable.

    "My impression is that Morsi and the Brotherhood in general have had it with the violence that is taking place and they are running out of patience," he said.

    "This is definitely the strictest he has spoken regarding the rioting," he added. "Now Morsi feels there is enough public opinion on his side to justify taking stricter measures."

    One recent source of tension between Morsi and the opposition was his call for parliamentary elections based on a controversial election law. The vote, due to begin in late April, has been postponed by a court ruling and it is now not clear when it will happen.

    Morsi's political supporters and opponents signed a document agreeing to renounce violence following riots in late January.

    Morsi's opponents say they are committed to peaceful protest and have also accused the Brotherhood of using violence and inciting tension in the street. The Brotherhood says the opposition has done little to rein in its followers.

    Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • Egypt election panel: Morsi constitution wins by 2-1

    Ahmed Abd El Latef / AP

    Egyptian women cut their hair to protest against the Islamist-oriented constitution during a demonstration in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012.

    By Maria Golovnina, REUTERS
    CAIRO — Egypt announced on Tuesday voters had approved overwhelmingly a constitution drafted by President Mohamed Morsi's Islamist allies, and the government imposed currency restrictions to cope with an economic crisis worsened by weeks of unrest.

     

    Morsi's leftist, liberal, secularist and Christian opponents had taken to the streets to block what they argued was a move to ram through a charter that would dangerously mix politics and religion.

    The president argues that the new constitution offers sufficient protection for minorities, and adopting it quickly is necessary to end two years of turmoil and political uncertainty that has wrecked the economy. 

    Hours before the vote result was announced, the authorities imposed a new ban on travelling in or out of the country with more than $10,000 in foreign currency, a move apparently intended to halt capital flight. 

    Some Egyptians have begun withdrawing their savings from banks in fear of tougher restrictions. 

    The "yes" vote paves the way for a parliamentary election in about two months, setting the stage for yet another electoral battle between surging Islamists and their fractious liberal and leftist opponents. 

    The final result, announced by the election commission, matched — to the last decimal place — an earlier unofficial tally announced by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. 

    The constitution was drawn up by a body largely made up of Morsi's Islamist allies. The results announcement was a disappointment for the opposition which had put pressure on the authorities to recount the result to reflect what they have described as major vote violations. 

    "We have seriously investigated all the complaints," judge Samir Abu el-Matti of the Supreme Election Committee told a news conference. The final official turnout was 32.9 percent. 

    Nasser Nasser / AP file

    An Egyptian election worker shows his colleagues an invalid ballot while counting ballots at the end of the second round of a referendum on a disputed constitution in this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 file photo.

    Cairo, gripped by often violent protests in the run-up to the vote, appeared calm after the announcement and opposition groups have announced no plans for demonstrations to mark the result. 

    "The results was so odd and no change in the percentage points shows that nothing was done to take our complaints into account," Khaled Dawood, an opposition spokesman, said. 

    The referendum, held on December 15 and on December 22, has sown deep divisions in the Arab world's most populous nation but Morsi says enacting the new constitution quickly will bring stability and a chance to focus on fixing the economy. 

    A growing sense of crisis has gripped Egypt's polarized society for weeks. Standard and Poor's cut Egypt's long-term credit rating on Monday. 

    Hours ahead of the results announcement, Prime Minister Hisham Kandil told the nation of 83 million the government was committed to taking steps to heal the economy. 

    "The main goals that the government is working towards now is plugging the budget deficit, and working on increasing growth to boost employment rates, curb inflation, and increase the competitiveness of Egyptian exports," he said. 

    Crisis mode
    The central bank said on Monday it would take steps to "safeguard" bank deposits, without giving any details. Rumors are rife of what sort of measures are planned. 

    "I have been hearing that the central bank is going to take over all our bank deposits to pay wages for government employees given the current deteriorating economic situation," said Ayman Osama, father of two young children. 

    He said he had taken out the equivalent of about $16,000 from his account this week and planned to withdraw more, adding that he had also told his wife to buy more gold jewellery. 

    "I am not going to put any more money in the bank and neither will many of the people I know," he said. 

    The referendum is the Islamists' third electoral victory since the fall of Mubarak, following parliamentary and presidential elections, representing a decisive shift in a country at the heart of the Arab world, where Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood was suppressed for generations by military rulers. 

    However, secularist and liberal opposition members hope they can organize better in time for the next parliamentary vote. 

    The opposition says the constitution fails to guarantee personal freedoms and rights for women and minorities. The government says the criticism is misplaced. 

    Hossam El-Din Ali, a 35-year-old newspaper vendor in central Cairo, said he agreed the new constitution would help bring some political stability but like many others he feared the possible economic austerity measures lying ahead. 

    "People don't want higher prices. People are upset about this," he said. "There is recession, things are not moving. But I am wishing for the best, God willing." 


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  • Egyptian media target Islamist candidate

    Suhaib Salem / Reuters

    A man reads a newspaper featuring Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq outside his shop in Cairo on Wednesday.

    By Charlene Gubash, NBC News Producer

    CAIRO – With Egypt ready to go to the polls this weekend in the presidential run-off election – swords are being drawn between the Islamic Muslim Brotherhood’s political party and remnants of the old regime.

    On Thursday, judges appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament and ruled that Mubarak's former prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, can stand in the presidential runoff this weekend. 

    Prior to the dramatic court ruling – described as a military coup by some commentators – the  Egyptian media took to the airwaves to blast the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, Mohamed Mursi, raising questions about whether he was even fit to serve as president if he won the election.

    Brain tumors, seizures, Hep C? 
    The popular Egyptian talk show, NassBook, on the Rotana satellite channel, disclosed what it claimed were private medical records from the United States and Egypt. The show asserted the records proved that Mursi had had operations to remove benign brain tumors, which could cause him to suffer from seizures as a result, and is afflicted with Hepatitis C.   

    Investigative reporter, Adel Hamoud, and talk show host, Hala Sarhan, displayed what they said was a pharmacy receipt showing that Mursi had purchased prescription medicine in the United States to treat Hepatitis C for 48 weeks.

    Dismay in Egypt as court orders newly-elected parliament to be dissolved

    Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images

    A protestor stands on a barricade of barbed wire as Egyptian military police stand guard during a protest against presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq outside the Supreme Constitutional Court on Thursday.

    They also showed what they claimed was a request from Mursi for medical assistance from an Egyptian university for the equivalent of roughly $42,000. The TV presenters maintained that the amount requested by Mursi indicated he needed major surgery. 

    A separate newspaper report also alleged that Mursi had two operations to remove benign tumors in 1985 and 2008 in the U.S. and London, respectively. 

    Mursi’s media relations person, Dr. Murad Ali, called in to the talk show to defend the candidate, pointing to Mursi’s ability to take part in a punishing campaign schedule as proof that the candidate is in good health.  Ali repeatedly refused to answer pointed questions about previous brain surgeries. 

    Photo blog: Egypt court rules Shafik can run in presidential election

    ‘Spare has a flat’
    Whether the late breaking reports of ill health will sway undecided voters is still uncertain. Mursi’s bedrock supporters would vote for him “if he were a body in a coffin,” said one political observer. But others might be influenced by his alleged ill health.   

    “The spare has a flat,” quipped one voter. Egyptians jokingly refer to Mursi as “the spare” after he replaced Khairat El Shater as the Muslim Brotherhood candidate.  El Shater was disqualified days before the first round of voting because he was recently imprisoned under the Mubarak regime.

    Other stories in Thursday’s independent newspapers could discourage voters who are already lukewarm on Mursi. 


    The Shurouk newspaper’s headline promised “Details of the Secret Meetings Between the Brotherhood and the Military before the Elections.” The Al Dustour newspaper asked “Will Egypt become like Tunis??!!! The Brotherhood Rule Tunisia….and the people can’t remove them [from power].” And the Wafd paper warned its readers that “The Brotherhood will lead Egypt toward a Military Coup.” 

    Many here are considering voting for Mursi as the lesser of two evils. They view a vote for former Prime Minister Shafiq as a vote for the old disgraced regime. 

    In a hard-fought race between two candidates who were neck and neck in the first round of elections, each vote counts and the last thing any candidate wants at this point is negative press.

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