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| Egypt Rivals Hold Rare Meeting and Call for Dialogue | Egypt Rivals Hold Rare Meeting and Call for Dialogue |
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| CAIRO — With Egypt’s political elites warring and street violence taking on a life of its own, young revolutionaries on Thursday tried to step into the country’s leadership vacuum, organizing a rare meeting of political forces that, in Egypt’s polarized state, was a victory in itself. | CAIRO — With Egypt’s political elites warring and street violence taking on a life of its own, young revolutionaries on Thursday tried to step into the country’s leadership vacuum, organizing a rare meeting of political forces that, in Egypt’s polarized state, was a victory in itself. |
| The meeting, which included representatives of secular leftist and liberal groups as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, failed to resolve some of the most divisive issues facing the country, including whether Egypt’s president, Mohamed Morsi, would agree to form a national unity government or amend the country’s newly approved constitution, as some opposition leaders have demanded. | The meeting, which included representatives of secular leftist and liberal groups as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, failed to resolve some of the most divisive issues facing the country, including whether Egypt’s president, Mohamed Morsi, would agree to form a national unity government or amend the country’s newly approved constitution, as some opposition leaders have demanded. |
| Nor was there any assurance that the meeting’s principal call — to end the violence that has led to more than 50 deaths over the last week — would be heeded on the streets. Clashes during protests have become the latest polarizing issue in Egypt’s turbulent transition, with Mr. Morsi and members of his Muslim Brotherhood movement largely blaming shadowy instigators for the violence. Others, though, have faulted the country’s poorly trained security forces for a persistently heavy-handed response to protests. | Nor was there any assurance that the meeting’s principal call — to end the violence that has led to more than 50 deaths over the last week — would be heeded on the streets. Clashes during protests have become the latest polarizing issue in Egypt’s turbulent transition, with Mr. Morsi and members of his Muslim Brotherhood movement largely blaming shadowy instigators for the violence. Others, though, have faulted the country’s poorly trained security forces for a persistently heavy-handed response to protests. |
| The issue has taken on new urgency in recent days, as a country on edge prepared for the latest round of Friday demonstrations. | The issue has taken on new urgency in recent days, as a country on edge prepared for the latest round of Friday demonstrations. |
| The organizers of the meeting included a leader of the April 6th youth movement, three Brotherhood defectors and Wael Ghonim, a former Google executive who played a prominent role in the uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak. Group members said they met several days ago, “to look into ways of leading Egypt out of the crisis and to warn against the threats of being dragged into a cycle of violence.” | |
| Those who attended the talks on Thursday included Mohamed ElBaradei, a former United Nations diplomat and the coordinator of the largest secular-leaning opposition bloc; Amr Moussa, who served as foreign minister in the Mubarak era; and Hamdeen Sabahi, the founder of a Nasserist party. Television images revealed a tableau that would have been unlikely a week ago: those leaders sitting with Saad el-Katatni, the head of Mr. Morsi’s Freedom and Justice Party, or F.J.P., the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. | |
| After the meeting, Mr. ElBaradei expressed “optimism” about the effort, saying, “Each of us will do what we can, with good will, to build trust again among the factions of the Egyptian nation,” according to Reuters. | |
| This week, Egypt’s defense minister warned that the state could “collapse,” in what was seen as a stern warning to both Mr. Morsi and his opponents to start acting more responsibly. In another display of high-level concern, the talks on Thursday were held under the chairmanship of the country’s leading Muslim scholar, Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb of Al Azhar mosque and university. | This week, Egypt’s defense minister warned that the state could “collapse,” in what was seen as a stern warning to both Mr. Morsi and his opponents to start acting more responsibly. In another display of high-level concern, the talks on Thursday were held under the chairmanship of the country’s leading Muslim scholar, Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb of Al Azhar mosque and university. |
| After the meeting, he said that a national dialogue, “in which all the components of the Egyptian society participate without any exclusion” was “the only means to resolve any problems or disagreements.” He urged the participants to “commit to a peaceful competition for power” and to prohibit “all types of violence and coercion to achieve goals, demands and policies.” | After the meeting, he said that a national dialogue, “in which all the components of the Egyptian society participate without any exclusion” was “the only means to resolve any problems or disagreements.” He urged the participants to “commit to a peaceful competition for power” and to prohibit “all types of violence and coercion to achieve goals, demands and policies.” |
| Despite the day’s strong statements, many doubted whether any of the participants had the influence to alter the dynamics on the ground. In the last few days, the violence has abated in the cities along the Suez Canal, including in Port Said, where most of the deaths occurred — but only after the police largely disappeared from the streets, leaving the army in charge of security. In Cairo, clashes occur daily at what has become a regular spot, at the foot of the Kasr el-Nil bridge near Tahrir Square. | Despite the day’s strong statements, many doubted whether any of the participants had the influence to alter the dynamics on the ground. In the last few days, the violence has abated in the cities along the Suez Canal, including in Port Said, where most of the deaths occurred — but only after the police largely disappeared from the streets, leaving the army in charge of security. In Cairo, clashes occur daily at what has become a regular spot, at the foot of the Kasr el-Nil bridge near Tahrir Square. |
| “The protests and the violence seem to not be in the full control of anyone, including the opposition,” said Samer S. Shehata, an assistant professor of Arab politics at Georgetown University and an expert on Egyptian politics. “Things are more critical in some senses than the days when Mubarak was ousted. The authority of the state is really in question. Some people are no longer accepting the legitimacy of political institutions, including the presidency — and not just the officeholder,” he said. | “The protests and the violence seem to not be in the full control of anyone, including the opposition,” said Samer S. Shehata, an assistant professor of Arab politics at Georgetown University and an expert on Egyptian politics. “Things are more critical in some senses than the days when Mubarak was ousted. The authority of the state is really in question. Some people are no longer accepting the legitimacy of political institutions, including the presidency — and not just the officeholder,” he said. |
| Several factors would determine whether efforts at a dialogue, like the one on Thursday, could pull Egypt from the brink, he said. They could succeed, he said, if Mr. Morsi and the Brotherhood “realize the gravity of the situation, and realize, in a self-interested way, that they have lost many people who supported them previously, including many who held their noses and voted for Morsi,” Mr. Shehata said, adding, “Will Morsi and the F.J.P. make serious concessions, including vesting the opposition in the process?” | |
| Even then, he said: “Will the people on the street, who aren’t following the instructions of the opposition, take the developments to heart and go home?” | Even then, he said: “Will the people on the street, who aren’t following the instructions of the opposition, take the developments to heart and go home?” |
| Despite the new spirit of cooperation, there were signs on Thursday that the government was continuing a pattern of “delegitimizing the opposition,” as Mr. Shehata put it. The general prosecutor’s office announced the latest arrest of a member of the Black Bloc, a mysterious and possibly minor antigovernment group that officials have labeled a terrorist organization, blaming it for some of the violence. | Despite the new spirit of cooperation, there were signs on Thursday that the government was continuing a pattern of “delegitimizing the opposition,” as Mr. Shehata put it. The general prosecutor’s office announced the latest arrest of a member of the Black Bloc, a mysterious and possibly minor antigovernment group that officials have labeled a terrorist organization, blaming it for some of the violence. |
| Several purported members of the group were arrested Wednesday. The person arrested on Thursday, the prosecutor asserted, was carrying out an “Israeli scheme” to bomb oil companies and other vital institutions, according to state news media. | Several purported members of the group were arrested Wednesday. The person arrested on Thursday, the prosecutor asserted, was carrying out an “Israeli scheme” to bomb oil companies and other vital institutions, according to state news media. |
Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London. | Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London. |