Egypt's army chief calls for show of support from citizens

[مستر محمد سلام]

Egypt's army chief calls for show of support from citizens

A woman holds a picture of Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, who has called for millions of Egyptians to take to the streets. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

Egypt's army chief, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, has called for millions of citizens to go out on the streets on Friday to back the military and police, prompting concerns that he is seeking a popular mandate for a violent *****down on supporters of the overthrown president, Mohamed Morsi.
Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement has already planned 35 mass Islamist rallies for Friday. Sisi's intervention creates the possibility of a bloody factional showdown that evening, and stokes fears that it is the army general, rather than the civilian government he installed, following Morsi's removal on 3 July, who now has the greatest influence in Egypt.
On Wednesday the Pentagon announced that Barack Obama was delaying the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt. "Given the current situation in Egypt we do not believe it is appropriate to move forward at this time with the delivery of F-16s," a spokesman said.
Sisi's speech followed an explosion outside a police building in Mansoura, northern Egypt, early on Wednesday, which killed one police conscript and injured 19 officers and civilians. It brought the total death toll from fighting since the runup to Morsi's overthrow to at least 190, by one estimate.
The bomb attack marked an escalation in methods used in clashes between Morsi backers, his opponents, and state security members. In previous clashes, weaponry usually has been limited to live ammunition, shotgun pellets, stones and teargas. The Mansoura attack raises concerns that the violence could be entering a more lethal phase.
A spokesman for Egypt's interim president called the incident an act of "terrorism". The largest coalition of pro-Morsi supporters, headed by the Muslim Brotherhood, were quick to distance themselves from the attack. But those allied to Morsi's cause are not controlled by one single group.
Hours after the attack Sisi made his appeal for support. "I ask … that next Friday all honest and trustworthy Egyptians must come out," he said in a speech at a military graduation ceremony in Alexandria, broadcast live by state media. "Why come out? They come out to give me the mandate and order that I confront violence and potential terrorism."
Sisi's remarks prompted concern from those worried about the army's authoritarianism, including anti-Morsi activists.
"We're in a very tough situation," said Tarek Shalaby, an activist prominent during the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. "We want Morsi to go on trial – but not only him, we want him in a cage with Sisi, Tantawi [Sisi's predecessor as army chief] and Mubarak's men too. The problem is that we're being cornered into thinking we need to support the army in *****ing down on the Islamists. But we're against this bipolar situation where we're forced to take sides, one against the other. We're with the revolution – against both Scaf [the supreme council of the armed forces] and the Brotherhood."
Bassem Sabry, a commentator critical of Morsi, said Sisi's move could have dangerous results. "It only adds to the national volatility and makes it more likely that people will clash in the street," Sabry said. "It also reinforces the idea that the army are the real power in Egyptian politics."
Sisi, nevertheless, has overwhelming support on the Egyptian streets, despite the unpopularity of the army during Scaf's brutal time in charge of Egypt following Mubarak's fall.
Sisi's picture is displayed on many shopfronts and walls across Cairo, and at anti-Morsi protests over the past month, the chant "the army and the people are one hand" has been a common one.
"The moment I heard about Sisi's speech," said Sabry, "I was in a waiting room with about 40 people, and they were all very supportive of what Sisi said."
Members of Tamarod, the grassroots movement that brought millions out to protest against Morsi on 30 June, strongly backed Sisi's statements. "What General Sisi said today is very good," said Mohamed Khamis, a leading Tamarod activist. "We support it, we will go out on the streets on Friday, and ask the army and the police to go and end this terrorism. We all invite citizens to go out into the street asking the police and the army to finish it, even by force."
Khamis denied the army had too much power. "The army is clear this time that it's working for the citizens, not for itself – this isn't like 2011 [under Scaf]. I don't think the army is seeking to control the country any more," Khamis said.
Despite popular perceptions that Morsi supporters are solely to blame, Egypt's recent unrest has been stoked by all factions over the past month. On 8 July, security forces massacred 51 Islamists outside a military compound.
Wednesday's explosion follows claims by the Muslim Brotherhood that three female Morsi supporters were shot dead during recent clashes in Mansoura.
In Cairo, Morsi's faction allege their night-time marches have been attacked on two successive nights by security forces or their proxies, killing at least nine.
In turn, Morsi's opponents claim his armed supporters have started other fatal fights, in particular while marching provocatively through neighbourhoods south of Tahrir Square, the cradle of anti-Morsi dissent.
The fighting accompanies a surge in militancy in Sinai, long considered a hotbed of extremism, and a rise in sectarian attacks on Christians in southern Egypt.
Egypt is dangerously divided between a sizeable minority who support Morsi's rule, and the millions who called for him to leave during mass protests at the end of June.
But even the anti-Morsi camp is split between those who back the army's involvement in his downfall, and who may even welcome a return to Mubarak-style governance, and those who see the army as just as great a threat to everyday freedom as Morsi.
Adly Mansour, Egypt's interim president, the senior judge who was appointed by the army the day after Morsi's fall, called for reconciliation talks with all sides on Wednesday.
But the Muslim Brotherhood did not attend, pledging instead to maintain a disruptive street presence unless the deposed Morsi – who is being held incommunicado by the military – was reinstalled as president.