Egypt Prepares for Rival Mass Demonstrations

Local Editor

Egypt braces for rival mass demonstrations, amid tight security in the increasingly polarized nation.

President Mohammed Mursi's supporters are to hold "open-ended' rallies - two days ahead of the opposition protests calling for the president to resign.
Meanwhile, one person died and a number of others were injured in clashes in northern Egypt late on Thursday.

Mursi in a speech marking his first year in office earlier said the unrest was "threatening to paralyze" Egypt.
Troops were deployed in the capital Cairo and other cities.
On Friday, thousands of Mursi's supporters are expected to hold a rally in Cairo in support of his "legitimacy", rejecting the opposition's demand for him to resign.

Some opposition groups are also due to stage demonstrations in the capital.
The main opposition coalition on Thursday rejected President Mursi's offer for dialogue.

In a statement, the National Salvation Front said it "remained determined to call for an early presidential election".
"We are confident the Egyptian people will come out in their millions to hold peaceful demonstrations on all of Egypt's squares and streets to realise their aspirations and to put the 25 January revolution back on track," it added.
The opposition was referring to the popular uprising in January 2011 which ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Just hours before the planned rallies on Friday, one person was killed in clashes at the headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the Nile Delta province of Sharqiya, reports say.
The Muslim Brotherhood blamed opposition activists for the violence.

On Wednesday, President Mursi defended his performance, admitting errors and promising immediate and radical reforms to address them.
"I was right in some cases, and wrong in other cases," he said. "I have discovered after a year in charge that for the revolution to achieve its goals, it needs radical measures."
He apologized for the fuel shortages that have caused long lines at petrol stations and angered many Egyptians, and also for failing to involve the nation's youth enough.
"I took responsibility for a country mired in corruption and was faced with a war to make me fail," he said, naming several officials he believed wanted to "turn the clock back" to the Mubarak era, including politicians, judges and journalists.

"Political polarization and conflict has reached a stage that threatens our nascent democratic experience and threatens to put the whole nation in a state of paralysis and chaos," Mursi warned, and noted that "the enemies of Egypt have not spared effort in trying to sabotage the democratic experience."

Mursi further called on opposition figures to "enter elections if you want to change the government" and criticised them for refusing to take part in a national dialogue.
The head of the army earlier warned it would not allow Egypt to slip into "uncontrollable conflict".

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team