PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Rival mass rallies rock Egypt
Cairo, Egypt (PANA) - Huge rival mass rallies are underway in Egypt on Friday as the standoff between supporters and opponents of ousted President Mohammed Morsi pushes the North African country to the brink.
Supporters of the ousted president have been staging a sit-in at streets near the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo since the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, announced his removal on 3 July, to demand his reinstatement.
But General al-Sisi a few days ago asked Egyptians to demonstrate on Friday after prayers to show support for the army’s action and give him the mandate to deal with "terrorism and violence".
Tens of thousands have heeded the call and filled the Tahrir Square in the capital, where days of their protests against Morsi early in July led to the intervention of the army.
Local television stations have been showing footage of the two rallies in Cairo with supporters waving the Egyptian flag and photographs of Morsi and General al-Sisi with army helicopters hovering in the sky.
Morsi has not been seen in public since he was removed from power in what his supporters call a coup. Now, the interim authorities have said he has been charged with alleged links with the radical Palestinian group, Hamas, to attack prisons in 2011 during which he was sprung from jail.
The Muslim Brotherhood to which Morsi belongs has laughed off the charges describing them as “ridiculous”.
Several rival supporters are reported to be injured while some reports speak of deaths in Cairo and the second largest city, Alexandria.
On Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay, again expressed their growing concern about developments in Egypt and called on the authorities to ensure respect the rule of law and international human rights standards.
PANA in New York reported that Ban, in a statement on Friday, called maximum restraint and reiterated the rights of all Egyptians to hold peaceful protests.
He renewed his calls for a meaningful national dialogue and an inclusive reconciliation process, noting that, "the aim must be to chart a peaceful path towards a full return of civilian control, constitutional order, and democratic governance".
Ban urged the interim authorities to end arbitrary arrests and other reported forms of harassment, saying "the deposed President Mohamed Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders currently in detention should be released or have their cases reviewed transparently without delay".
General al-Sisi, in a nationwide television broadcast on 3 July, announced the removal of Morsi from power and the suspension of the constitution.
Morsi was accused of putting his religious priorities before the development of the country.
The African Union (AU) has suspended Egypt's membership of the 54-member bloc, saying the overthrow of President Morsi constituted an unconstitutional change of government.
The AU's Constitutive Act prohibits an unconstitutional change of government.
The military has appointed Adly Mansour as interim president and Hazem el-Beblawi as interim Prime Minister.
Army chief General al-Sisi is the First Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister.
-0- PANA MA 26July2013
Supporters of the ousted president have been staging a sit-in at streets near the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo since the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, announced his removal on 3 July, to demand his reinstatement.
But General al-Sisi a few days ago asked Egyptians to demonstrate on Friday after prayers to show support for the army’s action and give him the mandate to deal with "terrorism and violence".
Tens of thousands have heeded the call and filled the Tahrir Square in the capital, where days of their protests against Morsi early in July led to the intervention of the army.
Local television stations have been showing footage of the two rallies in Cairo with supporters waving the Egyptian flag and photographs of Morsi and General al-Sisi with army helicopters hovering in the sky.
Morsi has not been seen in public since he was removed from power in what his supporters call a coup. Now, the interim authorities have said he has been charged with alleged links with the radical Palestinian group, Hamas, to attack prisons in 2011 during which he was sprung from jail.
The Muslim Brotherhood to which Morsi belongs has laughed off the charges describing them as “ridiculous”.
Several rival supporters are reported to be injured while some reports speak of deaths in Cairo and the second largest city, Alexandria.
On Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay, again expressed their growing concern about developments in Egypt and called on the authorities to ensure respect the rule of law and international human rights standards.
PANA in New York reported that Ban, in a statement on Friday, called maximum restraint and reiterated the rights of all Egyptians to hold peaceful protests.
He renewed his calls for a meaningful national dialogue and an inclusive reconciliation process, noting that, "the aim must be to chart a peaceful path towards a full return of civilian control, constitutional order, and democratic governance".
Ban urged the interim authorities to end arbitrary arrests and other reported forms of harassment, saying "the deposed President Mohamed Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders currently in detention should be released or have their cases reviewed transparently without delay".
General al-Sisi, in a nationwide television broadcast on 3 July, announced the removal of Morsi from power and the suspension of the constitution.
Morsi was accused of putting his religious priorities before the development of the country.
The African Union (AU) has suspended Egypt's membership of the 54-member bloc, saying the overthrow of President Morsi constituted an unconstitutional change of government.
The AU's Constitutive Act prohibits an unconstitutional change of government.
The military has appointed Adly Mansour as interim president and Hazem el-Beblawi as interim Prime Minister.
Army chief General al-Sisi is the First Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister.
-0- PANA MA 26July2013
