Chief justice named as Egypt's interim leader
Source: Agencies |
July 5, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
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The chief justice of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court was sworn as the nation's interim president yesterday, taking over hours after the military deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and launched a major crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.
Mohammed Badie, supreme leader of the Brotherhood, was arrested on Wednesday night in the Mediterranean coastal city of Marsa Matrouh, where he has been staying in a villa owned by a businessman with Brotherhood links.
He was flown to Cairo on a military helicopter, officials said. He, and his powerful deputy, Khairat el-Shater, are wanted for questioning over their role in the killing this week of eight protesters in clashes outside the Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters.
Unknown location
Morsi himself, the Brotherhood veteran who a year ago became Egypt's first freely elected president, has been held in an unknown location since the generals pushed him out on Wednesday.
The Brotherhood announced it would boycott the new military-sponsored political process and called on supporters to restrain themselves and not use violence.
"We declare our uncompromising rejection of the military coup staged against the elected president and the will of the nation and refuse to participate in any activist with the usurping authorities," said statement, read to the Morsi's supporters staging a days-long sit-in in Cairo.
Morsi's successor, judge Adly Mansour, took the oath of office at the Nile-side Constitutional Court in a ceremony broadcast live on state television. According to military decree, Mansour will serve as Egypt's interim leader until a new president is elected. A date for that vote has yet to be set.
Mansour used his first remarks as interim leader to praise the massive street demonstrations that led to Morsi's downfall. He hailed the youth behind the protests that began on June 30 and brought out millions around the country.
June 30 "corrected the path of the glorious revolution that took place on January 25," he said, referring to the revolt against Hosni Mubarak that began on January 25, 2011, and led to his removal 18 days later.
"The most glorious thing about June 30 is that it brought together everyone without discrimination or division," he said. "I offer my greetings to the revolutionary people of Egypt."
Mansour added: "I look forward to parliamentary and presidential elections held with the genuine and authentic will of the people. The youth had the initiative and the noblest thing about this glorious event is that it was an expression of the nation's conscience and an embodiment of its hopes and ambitions. It was never a movement seeking to realize special demands or personal interests."
The revolution, he said, must continue, so "we stop producing tyrants."
Badie and el-Shater were widely believed by the oppositions to be the real power in Egypt during Morsi's tenure.
Authorities have also issued a wanted list for more than 200 Brotherhood members and leaders of other Islamist groups. The leader of the Brotherhood's political arm - Freedom and Justice Party - and another of Badie's deputies have been detained.
At least a dozen of Morsi's advisers and aides are under house arrest.
The Brotherhood's television station, Misr 25, has been taken off the air along with several TV networks run by Islamists. Morsi's critics have long accused the stations of sowing divisions among Egyptians.
In a televised speech, army chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi announced on Wednesday that the military had suspended the Islamist-drafted constitution, and that a civilian cabinet of technocrats would run the country until new presidential elections are held.
Mohammed Badie, supreme leader of the Brotherhood, was arrested on Wednesday night in the Mediterranean coastal city of Marsa Matrouh, where he has been staying in a villa owned by a businessman with Brotherhood links.
He was flown to Cairo on a military helicopter, officials said. He, and his powerful deputy, Khairat el-Shater, are wanted for questioning over their role in the killing this week of eight protesters in clashes outside the Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters.
Unknown location
Morsi himself, the Brotherhood veteran who a year ago became Egypt's first freely elected president, has been held in an unknown location since the generals pushed him out on Wednesday.
The Brotherhood announced it would boycott the new military-sponsored political process and called on supporters to restrain themselves and not use violence.
"We declare our uncompromising rejection of the military coup staged against the elected president and the will of the nation and refuse to participate in any activist with the usurping authorities," said statement, read to the Morsi's supporters staging a days-long sit-in in Cairo.
Morsi's successor, judge Adly Mansour, took the oath of office at the Nile-side Constitutional Court in a ceremony broadcast live on state television. According to military decree, Mansour will serve as Egypt's interim leader until a new president is elected. A date for that vote has yet to be set.
Mansour used his first remarks as interim leader to praise the massive street demonstrations that led to Morsi's downfall. He hailed the youth behind the protests that began on June 30 and brought out millions around the country.
June 30 "corrected the path of the glorious revolution that took place on January 25," he said, referring to the revolt against Hosni Mubarak that began on January 25, 2011, and led to his removal 18 days later.
"The most glorious thing about June 30 is that it brought together everyone without discrimination or division," he said. "I offer my greetings to the revolutionary people of Egypt."
Mansour added: "I look forward to parliamentary and presidential elections held with the genuine and authentic will of the people. The youth had the initiative and the noblest thing about this glorious event is that it was an expression of the nation's conscience and an embodiment of its hopes and ambitions. It was never a movement seeking to realize special demands or personal interests."
The revolution, he said, must continue, so "we stop producing tyrants."
Badie and el-Shater were widely believed by the oppositions to be the real power in Egypt during Morsi's tenure.
Authorities have also issued a wanted list for more than 200 Brotherhood members and leaders of other Islamist groups. The leader of the Brotherhood's political arm - Freedom and Justice Party - and another of Badie's deputies have been detained.
At least a dozen of Morsi's advisers and aides are under house arrest.
The Brotherhood's television station, Misr 25, has been taken off the air along with several TV networks run by Islamists. Morsi's critics have long accused the stations of sowing divisions among Egyptians.
In a televised speech, army chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi announced on Wednesday that the military had suspended the Islamist-drafted constitution, and that a civilian cabinet of technocrats would run the country until new presidential elections are held.
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