By Kanzy Mahmoud
The Professional Syndicates’ Union (PSU) proposed an initiative for national reconciliation between the armed forces and supporters of former president Mohamed Morsi on Monday.
The Union has invited around 30 public figures with which both sides can communicate, to lead the dialogue of reconciliation, said Secretary General of the PSU Mohamed El-Banna. He added that names of the public figures and the date of the reconciliatory dialogue are still being discussed.
The PSU, who are mostly affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, organised a protest on Sunday in front of the engineer’s syndicate to announce their rejection of the roadmap initiated by Defence Minister and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi. “That is clearly against constitutional legitimacy,” said board member of the doctors’ syndicate Ahmed Lotfy.
El-Banna said that the reason for the protest is that the PSU rejects “the renunciation of democracy and all freedoms that were guaranteed in the past two and a half years and were fought for in the January 25th Revolution.” He claimed that there was no longer freedom of the press, citing the closure of some satellite channels, the censorship of writers, like Seif Abdel-Fatah, and the “arrest of members of professional syndicates.”
He stated that the biggest problem is the abolition of the constitution, and expressed his fear of returning to Mubarak’s era. He stressed the need for “democracy to take its natural path,” adding that the PSU is not against Hazem El-Beblawi’s government “as long as it is not brought to power by the military but through a constitutional framework.”
He said that on 2 July the PSU proposed an initiative to the military, which included changing the cabinet based on efficiency of the ministers, holding a referendum for early presidential elections, creating a committee to initiate constitutional amendments and holding parliamentary elections.
“We are creating a new model for the people when we keep allowing the idea that protests and surrounding the presidential palace are the mechanisms to choose a leader or change him. Now this (overthrow) can happen with any elected president,” El-Banna said.
