Video: Protests, clashes spread outside of Cairo

The anger over Mohamed Morsi’s “temporary” decrees that turn him into a “Pharaoh,” as Mohammed ElBaradei put it last week, continues to roll through Cairo — and now beyond. CNN reports this morning that protests and clashes with police have now expanded outside of the capital of Egypt:

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A measure of Morsi’s concern can be seen in an announcement today that the would-be dictator will meet with the same judiciary that he all but dismissed last week:

President Mohamed Morsy will meet Monday with members of Egypt’s highest judicial body, which has slammed his recent decree slashing judges’ authority as an “unprecedented attack,” state news reports.

The Supreme Judicial Council has criticized the edict from Morsy, issued last Thursday, that among other things stated courts cannot overturn any decision or law he has issued since taking office in June or over the next six months, until a new constitution is finalized.

Morsy’s office said Sunday that his decree is aimed at “preserving the impartiality of the judiciary … to avoid politicizing it.”

ElBaradei demanded that Morsi rescind his decrees of last week, and most judges have backed calls for a nationwide strike until Morsi retreats. So far, there appears to be no organized demand for Morsi’s resignation, but that might change if Morsi remains obstinate, or if the police or especially the army get violent in a crackdown on the protests.

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One has to wonder how Hamas views this situation from Gaza.  They provoked a war with Israel with the context of the rise of Morsi and their parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, to power in Egypt, and got the world to make their ally the guarantor of the cease-fire.  Suddenly, Morsi doesn’t look anywhere near as secure as last week, and might have provoked a counterrevolution with his power grab.  Perhaps this might convince Hamas to lay low for a while, especially since the last think Morsi needs is to look like a failure in diplomacy, which might remove the only tether Morsi has left with the West.

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John Stossel 12:30 PM | November 03, 2024
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