Egypt: Dealing with Brotherhood counters anti-terrorism efforts

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that some countries which deal with the “Egyptian Revolutionary Council” and the “Revolution Parliament”, both entities which emerged from the Muslim Brotherhood “hamper regional and international efforts to combat terrorism”, the Anadolu Agency reported.

In a statement released yesterday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said: “The Egyptian Revolutionary Council and the Revolution Parliament which belong to the banned terrorist group the Muslim Brotherhood have been issuing inflammatory statements and inciting violence and terrorism as well as promoting lies abroad about the situation in Egypt.”

These entities “do not represent the Egyptian people”, the statement explained, while “dealing with these entities is defiance of the Egyptian people’s will.”

The Egyptian Revolutionary Council, which was established in August 2014 in Istanbul, includes Egyptian politicians who live abroad from different political affiliations, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood who oppose the current authorities.

The council aims to “gather all the revolutionary forces against the military rule, building a common vision for the future and to support peaceful movement”, according to its bylaw.

Last week, US State Department officials met with a delegation from the Egyptian Revolutionary Council.

Speaking on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters that he denounces the US State Department’s hosting of this delegation and Washington’s justification of the meeting.

“The Muslim Brotherhood is not a political party, but according to the Egyptian law, which must be respected, it is designated as a terrorist organisation,” he said.

The Egyptian authorities designated the group a “terrorist organisation” in 2013.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki described the meeting as “very normal”.

During her daily press briefing on Friday Psaki said: “Officials from the US State Department met with a group of Egyptian former parliamentarians who are visiting the United States on a trip organised and funded by Georgetown University.”

She explained that “these kinds of meetings are very usual in the State Department”. “We regularly meet with political parties from around the world,” Psaki said, stressing that the ousting of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 was not discussed at the meeting.