Egypt bans muslim brotherhood group

[deltex1]

Maybe we can do that here...to the demoquack party.

News from The Associated Press

 

[Connery]

Moved to proper forum

 

[waltky]

Egyptian security warns MB against staging violent protests...

Egypt Tightens Security, Warns Muslim Brotherhood
October 05, 2013 — Egyptian authorities warned the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday against staging violent protests and tightened security in all cities and strategic installations after clashes on Friday killed at least four people.

Supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on Friday mounted their boldest demonstrations since troops crushed their protest camps demanding his reinstatement on Aug. 14. Both opponents and supporters of the Brotherhood have called for mass protests on Sunday, when the country plans to celebrate the anniversary of an Egyptian attack on Israeli forces in the Sinai during the 1973 war. “The Ministry of Interior asserts its determination on confronting violence and infringements of the law by Muslim Brotherhood supporters,” a ministry statement said. “Security has been stepped up on highways, in all cities and at important installations. The Ministry of Interior warns against attempting to spoil the 6th of October commemoration.”

The military boosted its presence around Tahrir Square - where hundreds of thousands of Egyptians demonstrated during the revolt that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 - after clashes on Friday in several cities. Political tensions have gripped Egypt and hammered the economy since the army ousted Morsi in July, installed an interim government and presented a political roadmap it promised would bring fair elections. In an apparent attempt to reassure Egyptians concerned by instability, Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said in a statement to the nation on Saturday that “evil elements” still posed a danger but had lost much of their power, a reference to Islamist militants.

A supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi shouts slogans in front of army soldiers and riot police, during a protest against the military near Rabaa al-Adawiya square in Cairo

Beblawi said the political roadmap was “taking its natural course” and that he hoped it would conclude soon. He said the economy was starting to improve and “there were clear signs and reassuring indicators”. Authorities have cracked down hard on the Brotherhood, which won every election since Mubarak's fall but became unpopular during Morsi's rule, with many Egyptians accusing him of trying to acquire sweeping powers and mismanaging the economy, allegations he denies. The Brotherhood accuses the military of staging a coup and sabotaging Egypt's democracy by removing Morsi, the country's first freely-elected president.

On Aug. 14, Egypt's military-backed authorities smashed the two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo, with hundreds of deaths, and then declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew. Many of the Brotherhood's leaders have been arrested since, raising fears that members of the movement might resort to violence against the state. Attacks by Islamist militants in the Sinai, which borders Israel, have risen sharply since Morsi was toppled. Concerns are growing that an Islamist insurgency will take hold beyond the Sinai. In September, a Sinai-based militant group claimed responsibility for a failed suicide bombing against the interior minister in Cairo.

Egypt Tightens Security, Warns Muslim Brotherhood

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ARAB WORLD SEARCHES FOR DEMOCRATIC FUTURE
Oct 5,`13 -- "For too long, many nations, including my own, tolerated, even excused, oppression in the Middle East in the name of stability... We must help the reformers of the Middle East as they work for freedom, and strive to build a community of peaceful, democratic nations." - President George W. Bush in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 21, 2004

Almost a quarter-century ago, a young American political scientist achieved global academic celebrity by suggesting that the collapse of communism had ended the discussion on how to run societies, leaving "Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government." In Egypt and around the Middle East, after a summer of violence and upheaval, the discussion, however, is still going strong. And almost three years into the Arab Spring revolts, profound uncertainties remain.

That became shatteringly clear on July 3, when Egyptian generals ousted the country's first freely elected president, Mohammed Morsi, installing a technocratic government in the wake of massive street protests calling for the Islamist leader to step down. He had ruled incompetently for one year and badly overstepped his bounds, they argued. A crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood has put more than 2,000 of its members in jail and left hundreds dead, and a court has ordered an outright ban on the group. Although new elections are promised, the plans are extremely vague.

A trampled poster of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi is seen on the ground outside the Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where supporters of Morsi had a protest camp in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt. Arabic reads, "Yes for the legitimacy." Almost a quarter-century ago, a young American political scientist achieved global academic celebrity by proclaiming that the collapse of communism had ended the discussion on how to run societies, leaving "Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government." In Egypt and around the Middle East, after a summer of violence and upheaval, the discussion, however, is still going strong. And almost three years into the Arab Spring revolts, profound uncertainties remain.

All this happened with strong public support, especially among the educated classes where one might expect a strong yearning for democracy. Foreigners in Egypt were frequently stunned at how little many Egyptians cared that Morsi had been democratically elected. How could that be? Around the region people are asking the question, and the stirrings of a rethink, subtle but persistent, are starting to be felt.

Few people - not even the absolute rulers who still cling to power in some places - would openly argue against democracy as a worthy goal. And people bristle at any suggestion that the region's culture is somehow at odds with freedom. But with the most populous Arab nation having stumbled so badly in its first attempt, there is now an audience for those saying total democracy must grow from the ground up, needs time to evolve, and need not be the same everywhere.

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