Morsi returns to palace, protests continue
7 Dec 2012 5:08 AM IST
Egypt’s president returned to his Cairo palace Wednesday with hundreds of protesters still camped outside a day after a mass outpouring of anger that has given new momentum to the opposition demanding that the Islamist leader rescind decrees giving him sweeping powers.
The political crisis has left the country divided into two camps: Mohamed Morsi, his Muslim Brotherhood and their ultraconservative Islamist allies, versus an opposition made up of youth groups, liberal parties and large sectors of the public. And both sides have dug in their heels, signaling a protracted standoff.
Buoyed by the massive turnout, the mostly secular opposition held a series of meetings late Tuesday and Wednesday to decide on next steps in the standoff that began 22 November with Morsi’s decrees that placed him above oversight of any kinds and escalated after the president’s allies pushed through a draft constitution without the participation of liberals and Christians.
While calling for more mass rallies is the obvious course of action, activists said opposition leaders also were discussing whether to campaign for a ‘no’ vote in a 15 December constitutional referendum or to call for a boycott.
Leaders of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood have been calling on the opposition to enter a dialogue with the Islamist leader. But the opposition contends that a dialogue is pointless unless the president first rescinds his decrees and shelves the draft charter.
Morsi was in the Itihadiya presidential palace conducting business as usual when the complex was surrounded by tens of thousands of protesters chanting slogans reminiscent of those used during the 2011 revolution that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak.
He left through the back gate, but a presidential official said he returned to work on Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak to the media.
The political crisis has left the country divided into two camps: Mohamed Morsi, his Muslim Brotherhood and their ultraconservative Islamist allies, versus an opposition made up of youth groups, liberal parties and large sectors of the public. And both sides have dug in their heels, signaling a protracted standoff.
Buoyed by the massive turnout, the mostly secular opposition held a series of meetings late Tuesday and Wednesday to decide on next steps in the standoff that began 22 November with Morsi’s decrees that placed him above oversight of any kinds and escalated after the president’s allies pushed through a draft constitution without the participation of liberals and Christians.
While calling for more mass rallies is the obvious course of action, activists said opposition leaders also were discussing whether to campaign for a ‘no’ vote in a 15 December constitutional referendum or to call for a boycott.
Leaders of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood have been calling on the opposition to enter a dialogue with the Islamist leader. But the opposition contends that a dialogue is pointless unless the president first rescinds his decrees and shelves the draft charter.
Morsi was in the Itihadiya presidential palace conducting business as usual when the complex was surrounded by tens of thousands of protesters chanting slogans reminiscent of those used during the 2011 revolution that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak.
He left through the back gate, but a presidential official said he returned to work on Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak to the media.
Next Story
