By Mohamad Nagi
The Egyptian presidency responded on Tuesday to the army’s Monday statement, saying that it had not been reviewed by President Mohamed Morsi.
The presidency said: “some of the phrases contained in it [the army statement] may cause confusion regarding the current complex national situation.”
The presidency’s statement confirmed that it is committed to “conducting national reconciliation for all national, youth and political parties in response to the aspirations of the people, despite statements released by these parties that divide the people and threaten the wellbeing of society, whatever their intentions may be.”
The Egyptian people “have paid a very high price with their blood and instability and the disruption of the development process,” the statement said, in order to build a new country that “we all as one have chosen the democratic mechanisms to be the sole, secure path to govern our differences in our visions.”
The president reiterated his calls to national reconciliation in order to protect the democratic transition and the will of the people, according to the statement.
The presidency also said: “the democratic, civil, modern Egyptian state is the most important gain of the January 25th revolution, and that Egypt with all of its force will not allow itself to regress under any circumstances.”
According to another press release by the Egyptian Presidency posted on Tuesday, Morsi spoke by phone to US President Barack Obama, who affirmed that his administration only deals with the elected president, and that the American administration supports the peaceful, democratic transition in Egypt.
This remark came after reports in the Guardian cited a Morsi aide saying that the presidency feels that the army’s statement is a coup, but that the coup “won’t move forward without American approval.”
Morsi confirmed that Egypt’s peaceful, democratic transition that is based on the constitution and law will continue to move forward, said the press release.
Both Morsi and Obama agreed how important it is that protests remain peaceful and for people to condemn any sort of violence, especially toward women, the statement concluded.
