Egypt's top political groups bash new constitutional decree
The Egyptian Tamarod campaign, which launched the rebellion against ousted President Mohammed Morsi, has rejected the country’s interim charter. The move has been echoed by the National Salvation Front (NSF), the country’s top liberal coalition.
A Tuesday post on Tamarod’s Twitter page stated that “it is
impossible to accept the [constitutional declaration] because it
founds a new dictatorship. We will hand over to the
[military-installed caretaker] president an amendment to the
declaration.”
The NSF also demanded more consultation on the document, which
they deem absolutely crucial to Egypt’s political transition.
"The National Salvation Front announces its rejection of the
constitutional decree," the group wrote in a statement.
One of the group’s top leaders former IAEA Chief Mohamed
ElBaradei, has been recently named the interim deputy president
for foreign affairs.
Two of Egypt’s top Islamist movements, along with a number of
youth activists and independent politicians, have similarly
rejected the decree. Essam el-Erian, deputy head of the Muslim
Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, said the plan would
bring Egypt back to “square one.”
On Monday, interim president Adly Mansour adopted the
constitutional charter which outlines the details and timeframe
for the formation of a temporary government, as well as
parliamentary and presidential elections. The 33-article document
retains some elements of the previous Islamist-backed
constitution – something that has attracted criticism from
liberals and Christians in Egypt.
The constitutional document also grants Mansour the power to
issue new laws in consultation with the temporary government. The
declaration comes barely a week after Morsi’s overthrow, which
followed a fierce escalation of violence on the streets of Cairo.
Tamarod, which is a grassroots protest movement, was one of the
key players taking part in military-sponsored talks aimed at
working out the details of Egypt’s transition. The movement is
afraid the new decree puts too much power in Mansour’s hands and
calls it a “setback for the revolution.”
A senior adviser to the Muslim Brotherhood, Jihad Haddad,
told RT that the group's members are ready to put their lives on
the line, in their stand against the military.
“If our blood is the price that is needed for this country’s
conscience to wake up or for the rest of the world’s conscience
to wake up, we would be gladly giving it,” he said.
He however claimed that the movement will resort only to peaceful
means. “If we become the punching bag – well, that’s something
we have to deal with.”
Meanwhile Amr Rarouq al-Maki from another Islamist faction in
Egypt, Al Nour Party, has warned that the crisis could escalate
into civil war - if dialogue doesn't take place.
“That might head to a [civil] war and we think that without a
national dialogue with all the parties, even the Freedom and
Justice and all the Islamists that will end with a [civil] war
and will not end soon. That’s why we are saying the sooner the
better,” he told RT.
