Egyptian gov’t demands ousted President supporters to end to pro-Morsi sit-ins

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chant slogans and hold his posters with Arabic writing which reads " Yes for legality, No for the coup" during a protest outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where protesters have installed a camp and hold daily rallies at Nasr City in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013. (Photo : AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Egypt’s government on Wednesday demanded an end to sit-ins staged by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi after foreign mediation failed.

The government did not change its decision to end the sit-ins at the Rabia al-Adawiya Square in Cairo and Nahda Square in Giza, where Morsi’s supporters have been protesting for 40 days, Egyptian interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi said in a televised statement on Wednesday.

“The protesters had exceeded all the lines of peacefulness by inciting violence, using weapons, blocking roads and detaining citizens,” said the interim prime minister. “The government’s patience is nearly expired,” he said, adding that the government did not use force considering the sacredness of the holy month of Ramadan.

“Any use of weapons against the security forces or the ordinary citizens would be confronted decisively,” he warned. Last week, the Interior Ministry called on pro-Morsi protesters to “resort to mind” and end their sit-ins and guaranteed protesters’ safety and “safe exit.”

Earlier Wednesday, Egypt’s presidency said diplomatic efforts to urge the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), which is affiliated with Morsi, and its supporters to stop bloodshed had failed despite the interim government’s full support, state-run news agency MENA reported.

The Egyptian government allowed U.S. and European envoys and United Arab Emirates and Qatari representatives to visit Egypt and to hold talks on the situation, said the Egyptian presidency. Later Wednesday, the United States and the European Union (EU) expressed concern over the political impasse in Egypt.

“Despite efforts to avoid bloody confrontations so far, we still feel worried as the government and the opposition didn’t reach yet a tangible procedures to build the confidence,” said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a joint statement.

The situation in Egypt is fragile and does not just threaten with more blood and polarization, but it will also cripple the economic survival that is necessary for managing the transitional period in Egypt, the statement added.

Ashton has just visited Egypt. The National Alliance for Supporting Legitimacy, a pro-Morsi alliance led by the MB, again called for the reinstatement of Morsi. The resolution of the crisis would not be achieved by arresting the Islamists or visiting the jailed MB leaders, but by holding dialogues with Morsi, it said.

The alliance urged Morsi’s supporters to take to the streets on Friday after the morning prayer of Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim feast marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, in massive protests to call for Morsi’s reinstatement.

Meanwhile the Popular Current, headed by Hamdeen Sabahi, a leftist who ranked the third in last year’s presidential election, called on Egyptians to perform the Eid prayers in Tahrir Square along with other revolutionary squares across the country.

Al-Azhar, the most prestigious institution for Sunni Muslims in Egypt and worldwide, announced on Wednesday it will call the parties that presented initiatives to solve the crisis for a meeting after Eid to start a national reconciliation and avoid bloodshed.

Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Aatyah, who visited jailed MB deputy chief Khairat al-Shater along with an international delegation, asked all parties to make concessions and sit at the negotiating table, saying a consensus-based solution is required in Egypt.

In an interview with al-Jazeera TV, Aatyah called the Egyptian authorities to release the political detainees to facilitate a solution to the current crisis. However, Egypt’s prosecutor on Wednesday extended the detention of Shater for 15 days pending investigations over charges of inciting violence between supporters and opponents of Morsi.

Also on Wednesday, the prosecution referred two MB leading members, Mohamed al-Beltagi and Safwat Hegazi, to criminal court over charges of attempted murder of two policemen. Beltagi and Hegazi are wanted for allegedly kidnapping and torturing two policemen during a pro-Morsi sit-in at Rabia al-Adawiya Square. <Xinhua/NEWSis>