Morsi Supporters Reject Egypt Reconciliation Bid

Political forces that support ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi on Monday rejected a reconciliation initiative tabled by former independent MP Emad al-Omda.



The initiative calls for a return to the "democratic track" by removing all state restrictions on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood – the group from which Morsi hails – and other Egyptian Islamist movements.



Under the initiative's terms, the tenure of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi – a former army chief who won May presidential polls – would be considered a "transitional" one during which the military and the Brotherhood might agree on a peaceful course of future cooperation.



The initiative, however, was vehemently rejected by pro-Morsi political forces, some of which described it as "out of touch" with the situation on the ground.  



The National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, Morsi's main support bloc, said al-Omda's initiative was not up for discussion.



One member of the pro-Morsi bloc, however, said the alliance would not reject any initiative that was in the Egyptian people's interest.



"We will not reject any initiative that takes the anger on the street into account," alliance spokesman Khaled Said told Anadolu Agency.



"But it must be clear that those on the street [i.e., those taking part in near-daily demonstrations] wouldn't accept this initiative," he added.



He described the initiative as a kind of "submission" to the realities that were imposed in Egypt after what he described as the "military coup" that unseated Morsi in July of last year.



Al-Omda came into the limelight in 2005, when he joined the Constitutional Social Liberal Party and won a seat in parliament.



When Morsi ran in 2012 presidential elections, al-Omda declared his support for him.



His support for the Islamist president continued, even after the latter's ouster. He even joined eastern Cairo's ill-fated Rabaa al-Adawiya sit-in before being jailed shortly afterward.  



Al-Omda was released from prison a few days ago, only to come into the limelight yet again by unveiling his reconciliation initiative.



The initiative has not, however, been particularly welcomed within Islamist quarters or by Morsi supporters.



"Do you think the military will go for the democratic option?" Walid Sharabi, secretary-general of the Egyptian Revolutionary Council, which was founded outside Egypt in August, asked via Twitter.



"Do you think the relatives of the martyrs will be silent when there are no trials for those who killed their relatives?" he asked.



Other pro-Morsi movements and political parties –including the Salafist Asalah Party, the moderate-Islamist Wasat Party, and the Youth against the Coup movement – likewise rejected the initiative.



"This isn't just a power struggle," Asalah Party spokesman Hatem Abu Zaid said. "This is a struggle for the nation's identity."



He said recognizing Egypt's current regime would do little to help assuage public discontent and would only allow it to get away with its "crimes."



By Islam Mosaad



englishnews@aa.com.tr



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