This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/world/middleeast/egypt.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Egypt Decrees That Pro-Morsi Sit-Ins Be Dispersed | Egypt Decrees That Pro-Morsi Sit-Ins Be Dispersed |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| CAIRO — Egypt’s military-backed government instructed its security forces on Wednesday to end two large sit-ins in the capital by supporters of the deposed Islamist president, a decree that risked a new round of violent convulsions in the country’s political crisis. | |
| In a televised statement, the interim cabinet said that the sit-ins in support of the deposed president, Mohamed Morsi, were disruptive and represented “a threat to the Egyptian national security and an unacceptable terrorizing of citizens.” | In a televised statement, the interim cabinet said that the sit-ins in support of the deposed president, Mohamed Morsi, were disruptive and represented “a threat to the Egyptian national security and an unacceptable terrorizing of citizens.” |
| Tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members and sympathizers have been occupying two large squares in Cairo — Rabaa al Adaweya and Nahdet Masr — to protest the July 3 ouster of Mr. Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president. The protesters have vowed to remain until he is released from detention and reinstated. That outcome has looked increasingly unlikely, as the interim authorities have expanded a crackdown on the Brotherhood and its affiliates and have moved to oust Islamists appointed by Mr. Morsi from government posts. | |
| More than 140 pro-Morsi demonstrators in Cairo were killed by security forces in violent confrontations on July 8 and this past Saturday, further polarizing a country in the throes of its worst crisis since the revolution that toppled Mr. Morsi’s autocratic predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, in February 2011. | More than 140 pro-Morsi demonstrators in Cairo were killed by security forces in violent confrontations on July 8 and this past Saturday, further polarizing a country in the throes of its worst crisis since the revolution that toppled Mr. Morsi’s autocratic predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, in February 2011. |
| Rights groups denounced the interim cabinet’s decree as a new provocation to violence. “Given the Egyptian security forces’ record of policing demonstrations with the routine use of excessive and unwarranted lethal force, this latest announcement gives a seal of approval to further abuse,” Amnesty International said in a statement on its Web site, calling the decree a “recipe for further bloodshed.” | |
| The interim cabinet’s televised statement, read by the country’s minister of media, Doreyya Sharaf el-Din, appeared intended to establish a legal basis for dispersing the sit-ins by force. The minister said the decree was necessary because of “the huge mandate given to the state by the people in dealing with the terrorism and the violence that threaten the dissolution of the state and the collapse of the homeland, and in order to protect the national security and higher interest of the country and the social peace and the safety of citizens.” | The interim cabinet’s televised statement, read by the country’s minister of media, Doreyya Sharaf el-Din, appeared intended to establish a legal basis for dispersing the sit-ins by force. The minister said the decree was necessary because of “the huge mandate given to the state by the people in dealing with the terrorism and the violence that threaten the dissolution of the state and the collapse of the homeland, and in order to protect the national security and higher interest of the country and the social peace and the safety of citizens.” |
| She said the Interior Ministry had been instructed “to take all the necessary measures in that regard within the framework of the provisions of the Constitution and the law.” | She said the Interior Ministry had been instructed “to take all the necessary measures in that regard within the framework of the provisions of the Constitution and the law.” |
| It was unclear from her statement when, or how, the Interior Ministry would carry out the order to disperse the sit-ins, where organizers have erected barricades of sandbags, bricks and tires. The Associated Press quoted the interim interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, as saying in a telephone interview that the order would be carried out in gradual steps and that he hoped the protesters “resort to reason.” | |
| The Obama administration, which has been engaged in a delicate balancing act over how to deal with the Egypt crisis, expressed concern. Asked about the new decree at a daily State Department briefing in Washington, the deputy spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said: “We have continued to urge the interim government officials and security forces to respect the right of peaceful assembly. That obviously includes sit-ins.” | |
| On Tuesday, two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and John McCain, frequent critics of President Obama, said he had asked them to visit Egypt next week to help persuade the interim leaders to move forward with new elections and an inclusive government. The senators said they would convey a bipartisan message from the United States, which has regarded Egypt as a crucial Arab ally in the Middle East for decades and provides $1.5 billion in annual aid. | |
| The decree aimed at ending the sit-ins came shortly after the interim authorities announced they had referred the top spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, and two other senior Islamist figures to a criminal court on charges of incitement to murder. The step was seen as a further expansion of the crackdown on the Brotherhood. | |
| Mr. Morsi has been detained by the military since he was overthrown and his whereabouts kept secret. Only a trickle of visitors has been allowed to see him, and he has been not allowed to communicate with his family or his supporters. | Mr. Morsi has been detained by the military since he was overthrown and his whereabouts kept secret. Only a trickle of visitors has been allowed to see him, and he has been not allowed to communicate with his family or his supporters. |
| The European Union’s top foreign policy official, Catherine Ashton, was able to visit with Mr. Morsi for a few hours on Monday night during a trip here aimed at trying to mediate a solution to the crisis. The interim authorities allowed the visit on the condition that she not reveal anything about Mr. Morsi’s whereabouts. | |
| Ms. Ashton said Mr. Morsi was in good health but she declined to disclose details of their conversation. | |
Mayy El Sheikh reported from Cairo, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Kareem Fahim contributed reporting from Cairo. | Mayy El Sheikh reported from Cairo, and Rick Gladstone from New York. Kareem Fahim contributed reporting from Cairo. |