Muslim Brotherhood Condemns Friday Violence, Blames Gov't and SCAF
Several months into the great January 25 revolution, the majority of the Egyptian people yet to feel their full demands have been fulfilled, partly because the incomprehensible slow pace of change led by the ruling military council -SCAF- and the transitional government, which clearly doesn’t match the people’s ensusiasm to see the results of their great revolution a reality.
Consequently, Egyptians have once again, on September 9, found themselves forced to take to the streets and squares across the country in massive demonstrations demanding those whom they entrusted to lead the country at this critical time and granted them legitimacy to vigorously pursue all the revolution’s demands and aspirations, and not some of them. However, it seems that those at the helm of the power have yet to recognize that their legitimacy to lead is not an entitlement, but it’s granted to them by the people.
Therefore, we believe that the solution to this apparent lag in the current government’s response to the people’s demands is a speedy transfer of power from the military council to a civilian authority that is freely and fairly elected by the people, which will ensure that this new authority is held accountable by the people, and will work hard to fulfill their demands and aspirations instead of ignoring them, otherwise risk being voted out as it’s the case in viable democracies
Nonetheless, it’s imperative that the ruling military council set a specific time table and a clear road map for democratic transition and a civilian authority without delay, which will undercut any attempts by domestic or foreign forces to thwart the revolution and spread frustration and chaos among the people by prolonging the transitional period. Meanwhile, political parties and activists must also deny their personal interests and become fully keen to adhere to the broader national consensus, while respecting popular will and democracy, and remain vigilant to expose any plots seeking to undermine the revolution gains.
We believe that the right for peaceful protests is protected by the constitution, and that the Friday demonstrations were justified by the latest slow and weak response by the government and SCAF following the Israeli killing of Egyptian border patrol soldiers, and the reluctance to withdraw the Egyptian ambassador from Israel, in addition to the establishment of a concrete wall to protect the Israeli embassy, which provoked Egyptians to demonstrate, exploding the national sentiment in their hearts towards Israel.
However, the deliberate violence that ensued in the form of attacks on headquarter of the Ministry of the Interior and Giza Police forces, setting the Criminal Evidence building ablaze, clashing with police officers and burning police vehicles, and destroying public and private property is completely rejected and must be punished. Therefore, we, the Muslim Brotherhood, demand swift investigations into these incidents, in order to bring perpetrators of these attacks to justice and hold them accountable.
Furthermore, the Muslim Brotherhood also refuses exploiting these events as a pretext to crack down on the people's rights and freedoms, and equally denounce the violence used by security police against protesters, which is a reminiscence of the old oppressive regime. Moreover, we reiterate our demands to immediately end military tribunals of civilians, who must be tried before their normal judge in a due process.
We also demand an immediate investigation into the government’s allegations that surface every once in a while about foreign funds and conspiracies to disrupt the Egyptian revolution, and were involved in the violent events on Friday. The Egyptian people have the right to demand a government clarification regarding these issues with full transparency in order to protect the national interests of our beloved country
The Muslim Brotherhood
Cairo: September 10, 2011
Cairo: September 10, 2011