US Envoy in Egypt, Protests Continue

Local Editor

The United States said on Friday it would work with other nations to resolve Egypt's crisis peacefully.

A day after saying the army had restored democracy by removing former President Mohammad Mursi, US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Egyptian authorities to give demonstrators the space to protest in peace.
"We will work very, very hard together with others, in order to bring parties together to find a peaceful resolution that grows the democracy and respects the rights of everybody," Kerry said before a meeting United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed in London.

The meeting appeared to signal a new diplomatic effort to end the crisis.
With the European Union already mediating, the new push will rely on the United Arab Emirates to work with the army-backed interim government and Qatar, which supported the Mursi administration, to liaise with the Brotherhood.

On Saturday, Middle East envoy William Burns began his second visit to Egypt since the army's removal of Mursi from the presidency last month.
Mohamed al-Baradei, vice president in the new administration, said he was lobbying for talks with the Brotherhood, while others advocated crushing it.
"People are very angry with me because I am saying, 'Let's take time, let's talk to them'. The mood right now is, 'Let's crush them, let's not talk to them'," he said. "I hope the Brotherhood understands that time is not on their side. I'm holding the fort, but I can't hold it for very long."

The Brotherhood, decrying what it sees as a coup against Mursi, escalated its protest campaign by announcing two new sit-ins and three marches to sensitive security facilities.
Its supporters clashed with police during a protest near a complex of television studios outside Cairo. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. State media reported army helicopters overhead and said two policemen were wounded by birdshot in what it described as an attempt to storm the complex.

The Brotherhood said the security forces had fired tear gas on peaceful protesters.
 Seven Mursi supporters were also injured, security sources said.
State TV reported that the Interior Ministry would impose a cordon around two large pro-Mursi Cairo sit-ins within 48 hours and that the police did not want to break them up by force.
The government has drawn up a transition plan envisaging parliamentary elections that will start in about six months.
But the Brotherhood protests are threatening to rob the government of a semblance of normality it needs to revive an economy which is in deep in crisis.
The authorities have also rounded up many other Brotherhood leaders accused of inciting violence. The government accuses Mursi's supporters of taking up arms, alleging they engage in terrorism.

Al-Baradei outlined ideas for a political deal that might include a pardon for Mursi and guarantees that the Brotherhood would have a place in political life. He said army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi understood the need for a political solution.
"But of course he has a responsibility to protect the country in terms of security. And the army is on the edge."

He said dialogue was the way to end the Brotherhood sit-ins. The government has promised to deal with protests it sees as a threat to national security. "I do not want to see any more bloodshed. Nobody wants that," al-Baradei said.
"They need to cooperate," he added, in reference to the Brotherhood. "But they need of course to feel secure, they need immunity, they need to feel that they are not excluded. It's things we are willing to provide."
He added that Sisi, who has gained enormous popularity since deposing Mursi, was not thinking of running for president.

Amnesty International issued a report saying Mursi supporters had tortured some of their political rivals, saying anti-Brotherhood protesters had reported being been captured, stabbed, beaten and subject to electric shocks.
It said eight bodies had arrived at the morgue in Cairo bearing signs of torture, five of which had been found near pro-Mursi sit-ins, and called for an investigation.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team