Egyptian Islamists And Protesters Clash Over Constitution Vote

Supporters of Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi have torn down tents and forced opposition protesters to flee the presidential palace as his deputy said a vote on a disputed constitution would go ahead in 10 days.
Skirmishes broke out after thousands of Islamists rallying to the call of the Muslim Brotherhood bore down on the presidential palace, chanting that they would 'cleanse' the area of the opposition demonstrators.

The two sides threw stones at each other before the secular-leaning protesters, who had besieged the palace in their tens of thousands on Tuesday, escaped into side streets, an AFP photographer said.

Opponents of Morsi reject a November 22 presidential decree granting him sweeping new powers, and a draft constitution rushed through by an Islamist-dominated panel which will go to a referendum on December 15.

But as the clashes took place outside, Vice President Mahmud Mekki told reporters at the Itihadiya palace that the vote 'will go ahead on time'.

The opposition, he said, would be allowed to put any objections they have to articles of the constitution in writing, to be discussed by a parliament yet to be elected.

'This is not a formal initiative but a personal idea,' Mekki said, insisting on the need for dialogue and consensus.

'There is a real political will to respond to the demands of the opposition,' he told journalists.

Tens of thousands of opposition protesters had encircled the palace on Tuesday demanding that Morsi go, opposing the charter and with some calling for a boycott of the referendum.

Islamist rallies converged outside the palace, where hundreds of anti-Morsi protesters had spent the night, forcing the opposition to leave the area.

'They (Islamists) attacked us, broke up our tents, and I was beaten up,' said Eman Ahmed, 47. 'They accused us of being traitors.'

Morsi supporters painted over graffiti sprayed onto the palace walls by Tuesday's protesters.

'These are the worst words I've ever seen. It is not good to express opinions with curses and insults to the elected president,' said 50-year-old Mohamed Abdel Moneim.

Protesters from the male-dominated Islamist marches harassed television news crews, trying to prevent them from working, an AFP correspondent said.

'I'm here to defend democracy. The president was elected by the ballot box. The opposition protesters ran away as they can't face our strength,' said Wael Ali, a 40-year-old Morsi supporter with a long beard.

As the country faces its most divisive crisis since Morsi took power in June, the United States called for an open and 'democratic dialogue'.

'The upheaval we are seeing... indicates that dialogue is urgently needed. It needs to be two-way,' US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told journalists in Brussels.

'Not one side talking at another side, but actual respectful exchanges of views and concerns among Egyptians themselves about the constitutional process and the substance of the constitution,' she added.

On Tuesday, the protesters demanded Morsi's ouster in scenes not witnessed even during demonstrations that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Morsi returned to work in the presidential palace on Wednesday morning, his aide told AFP. He had left 'on schedule' after his meetings on Tuesday and went back to his house in a Cairo suburb, the interior ministry had said.
Egypt 8636518078276518396

Post a Comment

emo-but-icon
:noprob:
:smile:
:shy:
:trope:
:sneered:
:happy:
:escort:
:rapt:
:love:
:heart:
:angry:
:hate:
:sad:
:sigh:
:disappointed:
:cry:
:fear:
:surprise:
:unbelieve:
:shit:
:like:
:dislike:
:clap:
:cuff:
:fist:
:ok:
:file:
:link:
:place:
:contact:

Home item

Popular Posts

Labels

Current News Nigeria Africa BREAKING NEWS Boko Haram Terrorism Entertainment Goodluck Jonathan South Africa Business Big Brother Africa Mali Egypt AFCON Elections Sudan Abubakar Shekau Zimbabwe Libya Somali FIFA Barack Obama Chelsea Al-Qaeda Syria Mandela Senegal African Union Lagos Manchester United Tunisia Uganda Patience Jonathan Central Africa Jose Mourinho Barcelona Jacob Zuma Stephen Keshi Algeria Dangote Ethiopia Malawi Nigerian Army Oscar Pistorius Zambia Big Brother CHASE Celebrity Saudi Arabia Ansaru Arsenal Mikel Obi Liberia Muslim Brotherhood Olusegun Obasanjo Pope Benedict XVI Okonjo-Iweala Amnesty Argentina Congo North Korea Queen Elizabeth II Robert Mugabe Sierra Leone Angola Buhari Dana Twitter APC Adenuga Alex Ferguson Aljazeera Boston Marathon David Mark EFCC Henry Okah Morsi Sanusi Togo #OccupyNigeria Arik Air Arsene Wenger Basketball Cristiano Ronaldo Current Views Spain UEFA Champions League Uhuru Kenyatta Yobe Babatunde Fashola COZA Drogba Michelle Obama Morgan Tsvangirai Tanzania Wole Soyinka Bakassi Peninsula Mark Zuckerberg Middle East Mozambique Neymar Roman Abrahamovich World Bank World Cup ANC Al Ahly Al Shabaab Aliko Dangote Angelina Jolie Bayelsa Big Brother Star Game Burkina Faso Chevron D'Banj Don Jazzy FELA Farouk Lawan Kim Kardashian Michael Jordan Mike Tyson Peter Odemwingie Sepp Blatter Singapore Social Media Sokoto Super Eagles Swaziland Tiger Woods WhatsApp Yahoo Asari Dokubo BBC British M16 CBN Danbaba Suntai David Beckham Ernest Koroma Fabrice Muamba Femi Falana Hezbollah Julius Malema Kabiru Sokoto Kanu Nwankwo Lesotho Michael Jackson Osama Bin Laden Pope John Paul II Sani Abacha Somaliland South Korea Susan Rice Taraba Yakowa Yemen Yvonne Ndege Zamfara Zaria

Random Posts

Flickr Photo