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Authorities in Egypt have warned against anti-army protests as the country celebrates the 40th anniversary of an attack on Israel, saying any protesters will be regarded as agents of foreign powers.Thousands of pro-military Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square yesterday to mark the anniversary of the Egyptian attack on Israeli forces in the Sinai during the 1973 war.
“Protesters against the army on the anniversary of [October 6] victory will be carrying out the duties of agents, not activists,” presidential spokesman, Ahmed al-Muslimani, said. “It is not befitting to go from a struggle against authorities to a conflict with the nation.”
The warning came in response to calls by the Muslim Brotherhood for fresh demonstrations during the day. Brotherhood supporters have been staging protests against the military coup that toppled President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July.
Political tensions have gripped Egypt and hammered the economy since the army ousted Morsi, installed an interim government and drew up a political road map it promised would bring fair elections.
On Saturday afternoon, about 1 000 anti-military protesters tried to reach the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque area in northeast Cairo, where security forces crushed one of their protest camps in August. All but about 50 were turned back by police, who fired tear gas, security sources said.
Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said in a meeting with aides that security forces would not tolerate attempts to block roads or “spread chaos,” the state news agency reported.
“The ministry will deal with the utmost firmness and decisiveness with any of those practices, and confront any lawlessness,” it quoted him as saying.
Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said in a statement to the nation that “evil elements” still posed a danger but had lost much of their power, a reference to the Brotherhood and its supporters.
Authorities have cracked down hard on the Brotherhood, which won every election after Mubarak’s fall but lost some support during Morsi’s rule, with many Egyptians accusing him of trying to acquire sweeping powers and mismanaging the economy, allegations he has denied.
The Brotherhood accuses the military of staging a coup and sabotaging democracy by removing Morsi, the country’s first freely-elected president. – AP
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