Egypt orders arrests of Muslim Brotherhood leaders as interim president takes office Abigail Hauslohner, William Booth and Michael Birnbaum CAIRO — Egyptian authorities on Thursday ordered the arrests of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, even as the country’s newly installed interim president pledged to include the Islamist movement and other supporters of deposed leader Mohamed Morsi in forming a unity government. Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood’s “supreme guide,†and Khairat el-Shater, his deputy, were charged in arrest warrants with incitement to kill protesters outside the Brotherhood’s headquarters in Cairo, according to Egypt’s state media. At least a dozen other Muslim Brotherhood officials — including Mohamed Saad Katatny, a former speaker of parliament and leader of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, and Rashad Bayoumi, an aide to Badie — were taken into custody overnight, after Morsi was placed under house arrest. Katatny and Bayoumi were charged with inciting violence and strife among Egyptians, the official Middle East News Agency reported. President Obama on Wednesday night had warned Egypt’s powerful military “to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsi and his supporters.†The warrants were issued less than a day after the army-orchestrated ouster of Morsi, the democratically elected Islamist leader whose 368 days in power spawned huge protests by Egyptians frustrated by his autocratic style and consolidation of power within his religious base. Prosecutors accused Badie and Shater of ordering 250 of their members to defend the group’s headquarters with lethal force — specifically to shoot birdshot and bullets at anyone who attempted to storm their building. An Islamist coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood called for nationwide demonstrations Friday to protest the ouster of Morsi. The group, calling itself the National Coalition in Support of Legitimacy, dubbed the planned day of protests the “Friday of Rejection†and stressed that it should be peaceful. Scores of anti-Morsi protesters attacked the headquarters and set it on fire Sunday during of a weekend of massive anti-government demonstrations. Eight people died in the ensuing clashes. A day later, Egypt’s military gave Morsi 48 hours to forge a deal with protesters and said it would intervene if the situation were not resolved. Morsi was forced from power Wednesday evening. Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, chief of the Egyptian armed forces, told the nation in a televised address that the military was responding to the people’s demands in an act of “public service.†Adly Mansour, a longtime judge who became head of Egypt’s highest court earlier this week, was tapped to govern until new elections can be held. The 67-year-old jurist told reporters he would seek to include all elements of Egyptian society — including the Muslim Brotherhood — in an interim coalition government. “The Brotherhood are part of the people, and they are invited to take part in building the country,†Mansour said, according to state-run media. “There will be no exclusion for anyone.†Mansour also pledged to uphold Egypt’s constitution, but the meaning of that promise, too, was unclear. A constitution ratified during Morsi’s tenure was criticized as failing to protect the rights of women and minorities. It was suspended by the army on Wednesday night. “We are hopeful of hanging on to the main principles of this revolution and its new values,†Mansour said, referring to the popular uprising in 2011 that ended with the army taking charge and deposing longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. “Most importantly, to end the worship of the ruler, who comes to resemble a demi-god, [and] to stop producing tyrants.†Reaction to regime change Obama expressed deep concern about the military takeover Wednesday, and he cautioned Egypt’s new rulers against acts of revenge or retribution. “During this uncertain period, we expect the military to ensure that the rights of all Egyptian men and women are protected, including the right to peaceful assembly, due process, and free and fair trials in civilian courts,†Obama said in a statement. “The voices of all those who have protested peacefully must be heard — including those who welcomed today’s developments, and those who have supported President Morsi. In the interim, I urge all sides to avoid violence and come together to ensure the lasting restoration of Egypt’s democracy.†At the White House on Thursday, Obama met with his national security team in the Situation Room to discuss Egypt, and top officials called Egyptian and other officials in the region to stress the importance of quickly returning full authority to a freely elected civilian government and avoiding violence, the White House said. Secretary of State John F. Kerry called Egyptian Foreign Minister Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr and opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Norway, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel phoned Sissi in Cairo and Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, and national security adviser Susan E. Rice called her Israeli counterpart, the White House said. In an interview Thursday at his Foreign Ministry office beside the Nile, Amr said he assured Kerry that “there is no role for military in the political process†and that “no one will be persecuted†or subjected to “vengeance.†Morsi, who is under house arrest, is being “treated very well,†Amr said, adding: “Actually he’s there for his own security, and he’s being protected.†Morsi was being detained at a Presidential Guard clubhouse, said Gehad el-Haddad, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood. It was not clear what charges he was facing. The arrests of prominent Islamists deepen the dilemma facing the Obama administration, which continued Thursday to refrain from openly from criticizing Egypt’s military for overthrowing the country’s democratically elected president. In his statement Wednesday night, Obama signaled that the United States would accede to a leadership change in Egypt if the army quickly returns authority to an elected civilian government. Administration officials have deliberately avoided referring to the Egyptian crisis as a coup d’état, a finding that would require the U.S. government to cut off financial aid to the country. While tacitly accepting Morsi’s removal, the White House retains powerful leverage — including hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid — to guard against either a power grab or the excessive use of force. In the meantime, the cautious language from Washington has given army leaders space to restore order and begin the transition process to a new government. Morsi’s removal from power underscored the elusiveness of democracy in the Arab world’s largest country. Even if Egypt moves quickly to new elections, political analysts said, future civilian leaders will govern with the knowledge that the military could step in at any time. Some analysts said the ouster of an elected president could provoke an Islamist insurgency — much like what Algeria experienced in the 1990s after its powerful military canceled an election ahead of an imminent Islamist victory at the polls. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the United States could withhold foreign aid to Egypt as a way of expressing disapproval of the military’s action. “If the democratically elected government is overthrown by the military, you can suspend all assistance. It looks like a coup and sounds like a coup,†Graham said. “The best way for us to continue aid is for the Egyptian people to pick the successor to Morsi, not the military.†Support for the change in leadership began to arrive from around the region. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki cabled Mansour to congratulate him. So did Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The head of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, urged the international community to support Egypt. A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Iran “respects the political desires of the wise, civilized and historic Egyptian people.†Also recognizing the new transitional government were Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Peaceful transition? Some of Morsi’s Islamist backers said Wednesday that they were prepared to fight. “The whole country might turn into another Syria,†said Alaa Hossam, a government bureaucrat and Morsi supporter. “It doesn’t mean that we will go fight the liberals. It means we will fight against the army.†Egypt’s Ministry of Health reported Thursday that 10 people were killed and 481 injured across the nation overnight. Army troops maintained a large and visible presence on the streets of Cairo and Egypt’s provincial capitals, but Tahrir Square and other protest sites were quiet and mostly empty. Sissi, the head of the army, said Wednesday night that “peaceful protests†could continue, but he warned that the military would respond with “strength and determination†to any outbreaks of violence. ElBaradei, the Nobel peace laureate and opposition leader who was selected in recent days by anti-Morsi activists to represent them, called the military’s move “a new start†for the country that would allow the Egyptian people “to regain their freedom and dignity.†But Morsi, posting on his official Twitter account in the moments after the takeover, denounced it as a coup. “Measures announced by the armed forces’ leadership represent a full coup categorically rejected by all the free men of our nation,†Morsi tweeted. Amro Hassan in Cairo and Ernesto Londoño and Joby Warrick in Washington contributed to this report.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 22:21:39 +0000
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