File photo: Supporters of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood 'The Freedom and Justice Party' participate in a march in support of the party ahead of parliamentary elections, in Cairo November 16, 2011. (Photo: AP)
The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) on Sunday night issued a statement on a number of domestic and regional developments.
The statement urged the public to take part in ongoing elections for the Shura Council (the upper, consultative house of Egypt's parliament); rejected the proposed restructuring of the National Council for Women (NCW); called for severing diplomatic ties with the Syrian regime; and condemned suspected Israeli plans to demolish Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In its statement, the FJP rejected a recent decision by Egypt’s ruling military council to restructure the NCW on the grounds that the decision "was issued unilaterally, without any discussions with Egyptian parties or political powers, despite the fact that it pertains to an important council that was used by the former regime to destroy the country’s family values." Such a decision, the statement added, "will result in the formation of a council that does not serve the nation’s best interests or the goals of the revolution.”
The FJP statement also slammed calls by revolutionary groups for a nationwide campaign of civil obedience and praised the Egyptian public for not answering calls for a planned countrywide labour strike on 11 February, noting that the move reflected the public's desire for stability and peaceful democratic transition.
The FJP also called on Egyptians to work on solving the country's chronic economic problems without resorting to foreign financial assistance that might threaten Egypt's sovereign decision making with foreign interference.
In its statement, the party also declared its readiness to cooperate with all of Egypt's political forces to form a coalition government.
On the regional level, the FJP blasted the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad for ongoing violence in Syria, where an armed insurrection has battled the government since early last year. The party also criticised recent Chinese and Russian vetoes on a proposed UN Security Council resolution on Syria and called on the Egyptian government to formally sever relations with Damascus.
The FJP went on to urge the Egyptian government to recognise Syria's opposition National Transitional Council as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
In its statement, the party also stressed its rejection of recent Israeli threats to demolish Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, noting that official Arab condemnations of Israeli belligerence towards the mosque – considered Islam's third-holiest site –were "no longer adequate."
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