Political divisions “threaten to paralyse” Egypt - Morsi
Islamist President Mohamed Morsi warned on Wednesday that political
divisions in Egypt “threaten to paralyse” the country, as at least one
person was killed and scores were hurt in clashes between his supporters
and opponents.
In a televised speech to mark his turbulent first year in power,
“Egypt faces many challenges. The polarisation has reached a stage that
could threaten our democratic experience and paralyse the nation.” Just
hours before he spoke, Islamists had been holding a rally in his support
in the Nile Delta city of Mansura when opponents began throwing rubbish
at them and fighting erupted, a security official said.
In addition to the one person killed, another 237 were hurt, the
health ministry said.
Two of the injured were taken to the intensive care unit of Mansura
International Hospital with live bullet wounds, medics there said.
The clashes come amid widespread tension ahead of planned anti-Morsi
rallies on Sunday, at which the opposition will again demand that he
step down and that early elections be called.
Organisers of a campaign dubbed Tamarod (rebellion in Arabic) say
they have collected more than 15 million signatures in support of a snap
presidential election.
And with Islamist parties having called for their own rallies to
support the president on Friday, there are fears of more unrest.
Gatherings for and against the president were being held around the
country on Wednesday, but confrontations only erupted in Mansura, a
security official said.
In Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the 2011 revolt that
toppled president Hosni Mubarak, hundreds of anti-Morsi protesters
gathered to watch the president's speech.
Some have announced they will begin a sit-in there. Others gathered
outside the defence ministry, waving Egyptian flags and chanting against
the president.
In Alexandria and several Nile Delta provinces, Islamist groups have
held rallies in support of him.
Morsi promised reforms and called for dialogue in a bid to placate
protesters ahead of Sunday's rallies. He insisted he was working for the
goals of the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011,which he is
accused of failing.
“For the revolution to reach its goals, there must be reforms at the
root,” he said.
Morsi repeated his call for dialogue with the opposition, amid deep
tension and anxiety ahead of the Sunday protests to call on him to step
down.
“We Egyptians are able to overcome this phase and overcome the
challenges... All I ask of you now is to sit and discuss... to look for
the positives and build on them; and to fix the negatives.” The
president admitted to making mistakes and vowed to correct them.
“I have made many mistakes, there is no question. Mistakes can
happen, but they need to be corrected,” he told a packed auditorium.
Morsi's supporters say he is an elected president who is working to
root out decades of corruption in state institutions. Any attempt to
remove him from office would be a coup against democracy, they say.
His opponents accuse him of concentrating power in the hands of the
Muslim Brotherhood from which he hails and of failing the aspirations
for freedom and social justice that inspired the revolution against
Mubarak.
Egypt's powerful army, which has been on the sidelines of politics
since Morsi's election, warned it would intervene if violence breaks out
in the country.
The military has brought in reinforcements of troops and vehicles in
key cities in order to protect vital establishments in case of potential
unrest, security officials said.
AFP |