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Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief, said Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Morsi was “well” after meeting him for two hours, his first known contact with the outside world since he was toppled by the army earlier this month.In a press conference yesterday, Ashton said Morsi “has access to information, in terms of TV, newspapers, so we were able to talk about the situation”.
She refused to comment on the substance of their conversation, saying “I told him that I was not going to represent his views”.
Morsi has been held incommunicado since the military had removed him from power on 3 July.
Egypt’s authorities say he is being investigated for charges including murder, stemming from a 2011 jailbreak when he escaped detention during the revolution that toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak.
Later yesterday, speaking alongside interim vice president Mohamed El Baradei, Ashton said EU diplomats would be in Egypt to continue efforts to mediate an end to the crisis. “I will come back,” she said, adding it was up to Egyptian politicians to “make the right decisions”.
El Baradei said he was optimistic sit-ins by the Muslim Brotherhood, which is protesting against the army’s overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi could be ended peacefully.
“Once we contain the violence that is taking place, then there will be room for a peaceful way to disband the demonstrations in different parts of the country and go into a serious dialogue,” he said.
The political turmoil has divided Egypt, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets in rival rallies for and against military rule. Tension increased further after scores were killed at a rally in support of Morsi in Cairo on Saturday.
Monday’s meeting with Ashton came as Morsi’s supporters marched towards security headquarters in Cairo, despite a warning from the National Defence Council that it would take “decisive and firm action” against demonstrators if they went beyond their right to peaceful protest. — Aljazeera.
Online Reporter