Egyptian president outlines national agenda to mark first anniversary

To mark his first anniversary as Egyptian president, on Wednesday evening Mohamed Morsi delivered a long speech to the Egyptian nation.

The first message of Morsi’s speech was directed toward Christians, “We are partners of the same country, we work to reinforce citizenship,” he said. “However, we do not feel the real citizenship which the revolution came to protect.”

He noted that there was a cold relationship between Christians and the Islamic regime. He blamed this on the policy of the former regime, which used to show everything related to Islamists a something fear. “However, through experience, the most religious of both religions were proved to be those who cared most for the country.”

The other message of the president was directed at the Egyptian army. “Armed forces aligned to the revolution and then returned back to their bases,” he said. “Lots of challenges are still facing them. They are the protective shield of Egypt.”

Refuting allegations about disputes between him and the army, Morsi asserted that he is the supreme leader of the army. “All know that the president of the republic is the head of all sovereign apparatuses, and each apparatus has its own role specified by the Constitution,” he said.

He stated that there are some people manipulating conspiracies behind closed doors. He said that he is to pursue them by law.

The third message was directed at the Interior Ministry. He said: “You have your own role in maintaining security in the country. This role will be mentioned by historians as you protect the people and their properties,” he said. “We do not have any other choice to avoid you. According to the law, keeping security is your sole role,” he said.

Morsi’s fourth message was sent to the judges getting involved in politics. “The appearance of judges within the political arenas violates the prestige of the judiciary and its dignified message,” he said. “I know that there is some pressure on a number of judges.”

He said that the judiciary is the crown of Egypt and he is dedicated to protecting it. He has no dispute with them and he is working on reinforcing credibility between the judiciary and other institutions. “As a sign of our respect for the judiciary, we did not conduct the elections after the court repeal,” he said. “But we call on the Constitutional Court to finalise election law quickly.”

The fifth message was sent to the opposition. He said that there is a part of it which is honourable as it is working in the interest of the country. However, its plans are different from that of the president. However, he also mentioned that there is a large part of the opposition which is leading the counter-revolution.

He said that he was surprised that whenever he calls for dialogue, they have several preconditions which they insist are not subject to change. Then, they increase their polarisation among the Egyptians.

He wondered why they think that their opinion is the only right one. “Why don’t they sit and talk in order to compromise?” he asked. “I say to them that the way of change is clear and our hands are always extended to them for dialogue.”

In the six messages sent to media, he said: “All are awaiting your role of informing the citizens and increasing the level of their culture. I am asking some of them to stop broadcasting propaganda and false information that aims at embarrassing the people.”

He wondered how many media platforms celebrated and published news about the first Egyptian tablet and the production of a completely Egyptian car in the near future.

In his seventh and last message, he addressed outlawed groups and told them to stop their incitement against the country, which belongs to all or Egyptian or they risk being put in prison, “of course, by following the terms of law,” he said. “Therefore, you have to choose your place by yourself.”

The president said that the security measures which are currently being taken come in line with preparations for demonstrations scheduled for June 30 which call for his ouster. He said that they have the right to demonstrate peacefully, and the state has the right to protect the revolution and the people’s properties.

He called on the youth and recognised that large numbers of them have not assumed their appropriate role in Egypt following the revolution. He said that he had ordered all governors, as a sign of a desire to involve the youth, to assign deputies under 40 within four weeks.

At the end, he called for all to share the burden of development saving bread, oil and essential commodities. He said that he supported 20 essential commodities, including bread and petrol. He also said that long queues of vehicles in front of gas stations will come to an end soon.

He said that this is the result of stealth and smuggling. He said that daily consumption is 33,000 tons while the daily amount supplied is more than 36,000 tonnes.