Egypt's generals ask for amnesty from Morsi

A group of generals in the Egyptian army, along with the leadership of a military services branch, have met with ousted President Mohammed Morsi to launch a campaign called the “Initiative of Repentance,” a senior source in the army said.

Speaking to the Egyptian social news website Rassd, the source said that the initiative involves the military institution officially apologising to the president for all the offensive actions carried out by some of its 222 leaders.

The source was among the generals who secretly met with Morsi in his prison last week and preferred to remain anonymous. He reiterated that the offensive actions do not reflect the position of the overwhelming majority of the military institution’s leadership.

He said that some of the leaders were exploiting their political positions to maintain sovereignty over the military. These coup leaders, according to the source, reflected a “tainted mental image” about the army.

The initiative, according to the source, is aimed at regaining a “positive mental image” of the military institution by returning it back to carrying out its basic duties, namely securing Egypt and protecting its borders.

Rassd reported the source saying that Morsi welcome the initiative, but insisted that amnesty be given only to those leaders whose “hands were not tainted with the blood of Egyptians and those who did not incite violence.”

Morsi also demanded that the leaders who were involved in the coup on July 3 be prosecuted before military courts.

The source added that Morsi asked the delegation to prepare a vision for the military institution should the army return back to the military bases. The vision, Morsi said, should include details about promoting the army’s combative abilities.

Morsi’s advice was appreciated and the delegation promised to prepare this vision as soon as possible.