By Charlie Miller
The Anti-Coup Coalition said in a Monday statement they had received information of “the putchists’ plot to set off explosions,” which would then be blamed on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi “in preparation for a violent crackdown.”
The statement, released via the Muslim Brotherhood’s English-language website Ikhwanweb, called for further marches on Tuesday, under the banner of “steadfastness”.
Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad admitted that, to his knowledge, there had been “no specific threat” with regards to the bomb plots, adding that such rumours had been spreading for the past fortnight. He said, however, if there were devices, they would be created by the regime, who would blame the Brotherhood.
The coalition was “trying to counter the wave of accusation” before anything happens, he said, in an attempt to “pre-empt the inevitable discourse” if such an event were to take place.
He said files leaked from the state security headquarters in the January 2011 Revolution showed government complicity in the Alexandria church bombing of 1 January 2011, adding that the latest threat showed “the same rhetoric as before.”
“Coup supporters and collaborators still seek excuses to break up pro-legitimacy sit-ins” the coalition’s statement continued, in order to “complete a full-fledged military dictatorship, erect a police state and empower the counter-revolution.”
Refuting claims that demonstrators at pro-Morsi sit-ins were armed, the statement accused the military of the “massacre [of] unarmed citizens at pro-democracy vigils.” The statement claimed that “peacefulness” was the root of the demonstrator’s “strength”.
“We will never permit the shedding of one drop of Egyptian blood, and will not permit destruction,” the statement continued. “The shedding of blood,” the statement read, “was prohibited by the laws of God and is a crime against the nation and its higher interests.”
