Armed forces warn Muslim Brotherhood

One day after the constitutional decree was issued by the interim president, the Egyptian army has sent a stark warning to the Muslim Brotherhood and the pro-Morsi protesters. “It is not the right of anyone to oppose the will of the nation whatever the pretext is,” said an army spokesman on national television.

“The interim president of the Republic is the representative of the highest judiciary position in Egypt; the head of the constitutional court,” the spokesman continued. “He issued a constitutional decree that covers all issues related to the transitional period.” This, he insisted, guarantees the protection of the national will. “The roadmap is clear; it gives all parties more than what is needed to prove that it is reassuring.”

Egypt’s interim president, Adli Mansour, issued a constitutional decree on Monday at midnight which demands modifications to the constitution followed by parliamentary and presidential elections. The three measures have to be accomplished within nine months. However, the decree did not specify the length of the transitional period.

The Muslim Brotherhood criticised the decree and described it as “absurd” and “a coup against the country’s constitutional legitimacy because it was issued by a party which took part in a coup”.