FJP official says aim is to free kidnapped country not kidnapped president

A senior official of Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party said on Sunday that they are not resisting the interim government in order to free the kidnapped president, but “to free a kidnapped country”. Mohamed Al-Beltaji tweeted: “We accept a future roadmap under the umbrella of the constitutional legitimacy and elected state institutions, and do not accept it under the umbrella of the bloody military coup.”

He called for those who claim to have taken the nation’s side after a “6 hour revolution” to return to their right minds.

“Democracy,” noted Al-Beltaji, “does not mean whistling for the end of the game at a time of your own choosing. Nor is it to film the half of the playground which suits you and leave the other.” Most certainly, he added, “Democracy is not brought about by the help of the army.”

According to Al-Beltaji, who appears at the anti-coup protests every day, the revolution has been filling public squares for 18 days now and is able to continue to do so for months. “The demonstrations,” he insisted, “are not against an elected legitimacy, but against a bloody military coup that undermined the outcomes of the ballot box.”