Egyptian revolutionaries "will not abandon their right to sovereignty, freedom and democracy"

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has said that the country’s revolutionaries will not abandon their right to sovereignty, freedom and democracy. Criticising the Egyptian Army’s repression of demonstrators in Tahrir Square, a statement from the Brotherhood described what is happening as a “heinous crime” intended to “lure patriotic citizens in order to crush them, spread chaos, intimidate the masses and deprive them of the benefits of democracy”.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Muslim Brotherhood accused several unnamed parties of not standing against the death and destruction. The aim, claims the Brotherhood, is to enslave the people of Egypt again and subject them to tyranny and corruption. “Such people are all deluded,” said the statement, “the revolutionaries who produced a great revolution last January are able to reproduce it; they will not abandon their right to sovereignty, freedom, democracy and social justice, whatever sacrifices this entails.”

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The Islamist movement holds the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) responsible for what is happening in Tahrir Square and called on SCAF “to stop the killing and aggression against the demonstrators in all squares immediately, without delay; withdraw all the mechanisms of oppression and soldiers from the squares; and to investigate each officer who ordered or carried out the killings and attacks on demonstrators and protestors.”

The group demanded that SCAF should issue a concrete timetable for handing power to an elected civilian authority by the middle of next year and oust immediately the current government as the second entity responsible for the ongoing bloodshed. SCAF was also told that it should respect the constitutional rights of the people to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration; to speak out and establish dialogue with political forces on ways to get over this deadlock; and to pass laws that will cleanse the political arena of corruption.

The statement from the Muslim Brotherhood called on national and political forces to unite for the future and benefit of the Egypt.