Egypt’s military-backed Government is considering banning the hardline Muslim Brotherhood whose supporters are demanding reinstatement of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, even as the Army on Sunday vowed “not to stand silently” in the face of over 800 deaths in street battles.
Interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi has put forward a proposal to legally dissolve the Brotherhood.“There will be no reconciliation with those whose hands have been stained with blood and who turned weapons against the state and its institutions,” Beblawi told reporters. His proposal to dissolve the Brotherhood raises the stakes in the struggle for the control of Egypt. If it is acted upon, it could force the group underground and allow its sources of funding to be targeted.
Despite being closely allied to deposed President Morsi’s Government, the Brotherhood has always been a banned organisation, dissolved in 1954 by Egypt’s military rulers. But it recently registered itself as a non-Governmental organisation. Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that the forces will never be silent in the face of violence. “Whoever imagines violence will make the state and Egyptians kneel must reconsider; we will never be silent in the face of the destruction of the country,” said al-Sisi.
Al-Sisi, the general behind the “military coup” that toppled Morsi on July 3, made the statement during a meeting with military and police commanders. He also said that the Army had no intention to seize power and even called for inclusion of Islamists. The ‘Anti-Coup Coalition’ on Sunday called off rallies that they had planned to stage in Cairo, citing security concerns. “Several marches in Cairo have been cancelled for security reasons,” the group’s spokeswoman said. She added that some marches were taking place. Security had been beefed up at a key points ahead of planned mass rallies by pro-Morsi supporters.