Brotherhood vows to continue push to reinstate deposed leader

A senior member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has rejected the timetable announced by the country's interim president for amending the country's constitution and setting new presidential elections.

Essam el-Erian, a senior Brotherhood figure and deputy head of its Freedom and Justice Party, said on Tuesday on his official Facebook page that the transition plan will take the country back to "square one" and vowed that the Brotherhood will not drop its push to reinstate deposed president Mohammed Morsi, who was a longtime member of the group.

Interim President Adly Mansour issued the timetable for the transition process late on Monday. It could lead to parliamentary elections in about six months, followed by a new presidential election. The constitution would be amended and again put to public vote in a referendum.

The quick issuing of the transition plan showed that Egypt's new leadership is shrugging off Islamists' vows to reverse the military's ouster of Morsi and wants to quickly entrench a post-Morsi political system.

Egypt's military is also likely aiming to show Western nations that the country is quickly moving back to having an elected civilian leadership.

Egypt's political divide was further enflamed on Monday by one of the worst single incidents of bloodshed in two years of turmoil: Security forces killed more than 50 pro-Morsi protesters in clashes at a sit-in by Islamists. The military accused armed Islamists of sparking the fighting, but Morsi supporters said troops opened fire on them without provocation after dawn prayers.

Egyptian authorities began questioning 650 people on Tuesday over their suspected involvement in the violence at an army base where Islamists were demanding the reinstatement of the ousted president.

The 650, who were detained over the past 24 hours, are accused of trying to storm the Cairo headquarters of the elite Republican Guard.

Meanwhile, China has called for an end to the violence in Egypt. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday that "we hope involved parties could solve their disputes through dialogue and consultation, and restore law and order to realize conciliation and social stability".

The Egyptian military and allied media have depicted the campaign to restore Morsi as increasingly violent and infused with armed extremists. Islamists, in turn, have talked of the military aiming to crush them after what they say was a coup to wreck democracy.

Essam el-Erian said the military and its allies were targeting "not just the president but the nation's identity, the rights and freedoms of the people and the democratic system enshrined in the constitution".

Reuters-AP-Xinhua

(China Daily 07/10/2013 page12)