Nader Bakar
The Building and Development Party (BDP) called for a “million-man march” next Friday in front of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya Mosque in Nasr City.
The BDP, the political wing of Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya, announced the protest was inspired by the violence and state of chaos currently prevailing throughout the country.
“The protest isn’t a show of strength,” said Khaled Al-Sherif, the BDP’s media advisor. Al-Sherif was speaking to an anchor on the Dream TV channel.
“It is held to support the legitimacy [of the president] and to renounce violence.”
Al-Sherif added that though the BDP isn’t closely connected to the presidency or the government, the party notices that a certain political group is fighting for authority to achieve personal gains. He accused the National Salvation Front (NSF) of covering up the violence despite having signed Al-Azhar’s anti-violence initiative.
The party is holding a press conference at its headquarters on Monday at noon to announce further details about the planned protest.
A spokesperson from the Freedom and Justice Party or the Muslim Brotherhood could not be reached for comment.
The Salafi Al-Nour Party announced it will not take part in the protest. “We’re going through a highly-congested phase,” said Nader Bakkar, the Al-Nour Party spokesperson. “The answer does not lie in taking to the streets.”
Bakkar said his party is trying to devise political solutions that will help dissolve the current crisis. He added that such solutions need affiliation between the president, the opposition and the NSF.
Al-Nour proposed an initiative to resolve the current crisis, which includes appointing a new prosecutor general, establishing a national coalition government, and forming a committee responsible for amending controversial articles of the new constitution.
The NSF welcomed Al-Nour’s initiative.
