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April 20th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
The Brotherhood, Egypt’s strongest political movement, has been frustrated
that the military has prevented their domination of parliament from
translating into real political power. The group was angered when the
military-appointed election commission over the past week disqualified its
initial candidate for president, along with nine other hopefuls.
In response, the Brotherhood is calling for a “second revolution.”
Liberals and the youth groups who led the revolt against Mubarak, however, are
sceptical, accusing the Brotherhood of abandoning the revolution the past
year to pursue their own quest to rule. The Brotherhood largely stayed out
of antimilitary protests since Mubarak’s fall and accepted the generals’
running of the transition, betting that the process would pave their way to
political power.
Many in the secular camp demand the Brotherhood “apologise” for its
actions the past year and show it is not intent on monopolising power.
Khaled al-Balshi, editor of the leftist el-Badeel news site, said he feared
that Islamists are once again using the protests as a card to pressure the
military council and would go back to striking deals with it again later.
“I am afraid that right now there is something being cooked,” he
told Al-Jazeera television.
Another major force in the square were the ultraconservative Salafis, an
Islamic movement that is more hard-line than the Brotherhood. Many of them
are furious over the disqualification of their favoured presidential
candidate, Hazem Abu Ismail, who was barred from the race because his mother
held American citizenship.
Election rules bar a candidate’s close family from having dual citizenship.
Many of his supporters accuse the military and election of commission of
forging documents to force out the popular Abu Ismail.
His supporters marched through the square Friday carrying a long banner with
Abu Ismail’s image, demanding that he be reinstated.
The presidential elections are scheduled for May 23-24. A new president will
be announced on June. 21. The military council has pledged to transfer power
to the elected civilian administration by early July.
Members of military council spoke more than once over the past weeks assuring
that they don’t intend to postpone elections and they are not in favour of
any candidate.
But the council raised worries that they intend to push back the election and
hold power longer when the generals said in a closed-door meeting with
political parties that they believe the writing of Egypt’s new constitution
should be finished before a president is seated. The constitution-writing
process is already in turmoil, and few believe it could be completed in that
time frame.
“Today we came to demand that presidential elections take place on time,
without delay even for a single day,” Muslim cleric Muzhar Shahine told
protesters in a Friday sermon in Tahrir. “Let’s forget the mistakes of
each other … for the sake of our nation’s interest,” he said.
But the divisions were evident in Tahrir. Each faction rallied around its own
stage in the square, each with its own speeches and slogans blaring over
loudspeakers.
In the liberal and leftist camp, many accuse the Brotherhood of overreaching
in its bid for power the past few months.
Islamists captured nearly 70 per cent of parliament seats in elections held
late last year, with the Brotherhood alone capturing nearly half the
legislature. Parliament then demanded the removal of the military-backed
government headed by Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, which the Brotherhood
hoped to replace with a government it would dominate. The military refused,
however, and parliament seemed unable to force the Cabinet’s ouster.
In retaliation, the Brotherhood reversed a previous promise not to field a
presidential candidate from its own ranks and nominated its chief strategist
Khairat el-Shater. However, Egypt’s election commission on Wednesday
disqualified el-Shater from presidential elections over legal grounds
related to his past conviction and imprisonment.
At the same time, parliament created an Islamist-dominated assembly to write
the constitution, angering secular forces and fuelling the perception that
the Brotherhood is trying to go it alone in determining the country’s future.
However, a court disbanded the 100-member panel, in a blow to the Brotherhood
on that front as well.
The Brotherhood has a backup candidate to run in the presidential election,
its political party head Mohammed Morsi.
After what they see as the Brotherhood’s attempts to control every facet of
Egypt’s future ruling system, some in the “revolution” camp have
doubts over their sincerity in the new protests.
Mustafa el-Naggar, co-founder of the El-Adl Party, created after Mubarak’s
fall, said he was boycotting Friday’s rally.
“I will not enter Tahrir Square today because it doesn’t represent me,”
he said, referring to the Islamists’ agenda.
Source: AP
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