Al-Beltaji ridicules ministry threats to disperse protests by force

Prominent leader of the Freedom and Justice Party Mohamed Al-Beltaji has poured scorn on the threats by the Egyptian interior ministry to break up anti-coup protests by force. The latest deadline for protesters to leave the squares was Monday morning.

“The coup perpetrators and their threats to evacuate the squares do not worry us,” he said. “The continued presence of anti-coup rebels for 45 consecutive days proves how much we are determined to protect the people’s will.”

The rebels, Al-Beltaji claimed, have decided to regain control of the revolution even if they have to pay with their lives. “This is what has surprised and embarrassed the coup leaders and their international friends,” he said. “They thought that we would not stay for more than a couple of hours. This has changed the rules of the game.”

Speaking on the stage in Rabaa Al-Adawiyya Square, Al-Beltaji said: “Without this gathering, the country would have been corrupted with future generations brought up at the hands of criminals, humiliated and low; no one would dare to ask about the wealth and the rights of the people.”

The FJP official reminded the audience and media that the people promoting the coup are the same people who supported the deposed Mubarak regime. If they succeed in dispersing the protests, he stressed, nobody will be able to stand up to them at a later date. “You are the people who will decide the future of the real revolution despite the power of the tanks and water cannons,” he added.