(Photo by Aaron T Rose)
The National Coalition to Support Legitimacy (NCSL) held a press conference on Monday, announcing that they will hold protests on Tuesday while releasing the following statement: “that the fire of the peaceful protests will not be put out.”
The coalition, warning against “future bloodshed,” called on “the Egyptian people to continue loyalty to ‘martyrs week’ through setting out in protest while also ’denouncing’ the raid of the village of Delga, stating that the siege on the village was after a rumor that Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya leader, Assem Abdel Maged, was taking refuge within.”
The coalition formed after the 3 July ouster of President Mohamed Morsi announced that “negotiations will only commence if legitimacy is restored, the constitution is reinstated and the Shura Council returns.”
In response to a question regarding the decline in the number of protesters, the coalition denied this and blamed the bias of the media coverage, explaining that the “extension of emergency law as well as deputizing university security to arrest students is evidence to how worried authorities are.”
Members of the coalition speakers included Ahmed Al-Khouly from the Labour Party, Ahmed Abul Nasr from the Building and Development Party, and Magdy Salem, legal advisor to the Al-Jihad group. Among the noted absentees was Muslim Brotherhood representative, Dr.Khaled Hanafy, who was arrested last week.
The press conference criticized the current authorities, stating that the regime is failing economically, that tourism has disappeared and that “internationally, the current regime is failing to gain recognition.”
Several journalists complained that during Pro-Morsi marches, their cameras were smashed and they were assaulted by protesters; members of the coalition responded to this with: “these are probably infiltrators and the coalition does not condone these acts of aggression.”
A representative for Lawyers Against the Coup addressed the army and the police, asking their “respectable” members to “save Egypt from collapsing.”
Calling the assassination attempt on the Minister of Interior “staged,” the coalition announced that the “21st of September is the start of schools and the coalition warns that the putschists will attempt at explosions to postpone schools however do not fall for this deception.”
The coalition explained that the “military coup is a plan to serve the Zionist regime… the army is collaborating with Israel in killing Egyptians…the army has to admit that they are at fault.”
Abul Nasr announced that before the protests of 30 June, the Islamic group has proposed initiatives asking for negotiations. The group explained that they presented an initiative on 6 July and currently, all political factions have another initiative, although it is not for public record.
Concerning violence in Sinai, the coalition announced that the they “condemn bloodshed in all its forms, however, Sinai problems are due to 30 years of negligence [which] is what led to the current position witnessed within this region, while the army is destroying mosques in favor of the Zionist regime.”
A representative of the Lawyers Against the Coup explained that the current government is failing, and “prices are at their highest,” while also criticizing Adly Mansur’s decisions as opposed to ousted President Morsi’s, saying that “Morsi was criticized on a daily basis while Mansur isn’t assessed, although his decisions are worse than Morsi’s.”
The coalition was asked whether there is a contradiction between their criticism of the economic conditions and their support for calls for civil disobedience, to which they responded that they do not “see a contradiction as the calls are set out on social media websites by Egyptian youth, such as the Sunday metro sit-ins.”
Simultaneously, the Anti-Coup Youth Movement released a statement announcing that they appeal to the people to carry out civil disobedience on Sunday, 22September by refraining from going to work: ”We call on the people to go out to demonstrate in all the streets of Egypt and assemble in the main squares since early morning Sunday.”
