Egypt begins work on amending constitution
Militant attacks kill 5
Coordinated day and nighttime attacks Sunday by emboldened militants in Egypt’s northern Sinai Peninsula targeted different areas in the main city of el-Arish and a border town, killing one civilian and four security officers, according to officials. Sunday’s assault was significant in that it struck in the heart of el-Arish and killed a 32-year-old man driving his car in the most populated city in northern Sinai, which is also its provincial capital. The city is home to about 150,000 people.
Associated Press
The panel tasked with amending Egypt’s constitution following the army’s ouster of President Mohammed Morsi began its work Sunday as the military-backed interim leadership forged ahead with its fast-track transition plan aimed at bringing the country back to democratic rule.
While appealing for consensus and reconciliation, Egypt’s new government has pushed the transition in the face of opposition from Morsi’s supporters who denounce the military coup that overthrew the Islamist leader and reject the new political order that has replaced him.
Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and his Islamist allies have vowed to stage daily rallies until he is reinstated, setting the stage for further instability and potential violence. The rallies outside military buildings are particularly sensitive: Fifty-four people, mostly pro-Morsi demonstrators, were killed when soldiers opened fire two weeks ago outside the Republican Guard Club. The military says armed protesters attacked the facility, while the Brotherhood says the soldiers fired on peaceful protesters.
The killings are the bloodiest episode since the military overthrew Morsi, although there have been smaller bouts of violence that have turned deadly, including on Friday when three women were killed at a Brotherhood rally in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, sparking outrage among the group’s supporters. Egypt’s prosecutor general opened an investigation and top figures of the new leadership have condemned the killings.
“What happened in Mansoura will happen again in the future,” said 35-year-old housewife Nagah Thabit, who was among the protesters out on the streets in support of Morsi on Sunday. “Anybody who will take to the streets in the future, the army will unleash their thugs against them.”
One of the marches Sunday set off toward the U.S. Embassy, but turned back at one of the security barriers that stretch around it for several blocks.
Waving Morsi’s photo, small copies of the Quran and Egyptian flags, protesters chanted, “Morsi is coming back,” and “Oh Sissi wake up, today is your last day!”
“I am here to support the president’s legitimacy and to send a message to the United States to tell them to stop interfering in Egyptian politics,” said Zein el-Abedeen Hassib, 28. “They are the one who prepared” the coup, he said.
Members of all political factions in Egypt accuse the United States of meddling in the country’s affairs, usually on behalf of their rivals.
Since overthrowing Morsi, security forces have launched a crackdown against the Brotherhood and some of their staunchest supporters. Prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the group’s leaders for allegedly instigating violence. Morsi himself has been held incommunicado since July 3.
While the protests have snarled traffic in the capital, they have had had little outward impact on the military-guided transition, including the decision to amend the constitution that was contentiously drafted and passed in a referendum during Morsi’s first and only year in office.
On Sunday, the new 10-member-panel of legal experts and senior judges met for the first time to begin drawing up proposed amendments to the constitution. The panel has 30 days to do so. A second 50-member committee then will have 60 days to review those amendments before citizens vote on the new constitution in a referendum.
The drafting of Egypt’s constitution was one of the most divisive issues during Morsi’s rule. The charter was drafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly after liberals walked out twice, complaining that the Brotherhood and its allies were dictating the process. Protests over the constitution and the direction of the country turned deadly after Morsi issued temporary decrees in late November that put himself and the drafting committee above judicial oversight. The charter was then finalized in a rushed overnight session and passed in a referendum.
