Coup supporter Heikal to be honoured with statue

The Arab Defence Association is raising funds through Egyptian media organisations to pay for the building of a statute honouring Egyptian journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal for his efforts in supporting the removal of President Mohammed Morsi.

The statue is to be built in one of the elite residential areas of central Cairo. Those in charge of the project said that Heikal has made “great efforts” during the current stage in Egypt.

“His recent efforts have helped remove Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and supported the military coup, as well as pushed for delegitimising Muslin Brotherhood,” Egyptian Al-Masriyoun newspaper reported.

The Association considers the project to be a message to all journalists in Egypt that the profession is faithful to this prominent figure, and it has promised to do its best to bring this project to light very soon.

Heikal was a culture minister during Jamal Abdul-Nasser’s era and he has remained close to senior army officials ever since. It is believed that he is the engineer of the transitional roadmap adopted by General Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi, who carried out the military coup against President Morsi.

The man, who celebrated his 90th birthday on Monday, stopped working in journalism a couple of years ago, however mass media sometimes asks him to comment on regional and international incidents.

Information that was disclosed by media yesterday said that Heikal recently travelled to the UAE, the Arab country, along with Saudi Arabia, which candidly supported the coup, and held two-day discussions with officials there.