Egypt's Popular Current slams US ambassador's meetings with opposition

Ahram Online, Wednesday 19 Jun 2013

Hamdeen Sabbahi's Popular Current declares that Egyptians need advice from no one to secure their rights, condemning US 'interference' in Egypt's domestic affairs

Leftist leader Hamdeen Sabahi
Leftist leader Hamdeen Sabahi (Photo: Reuters)

The Egyptian Popular Current, a Nasserist political group headed by former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi, has described meetings between US Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson and opposition figures as an unacceptable foreign intrusion in Egyptian domestic affairs.

Patterson has been making the rounds contacting top opposition leaders to mediate a deal that could defuse calls for demonstrations 30 june aimed at securing early presidential elections and the ouster of Presdent Mohamed Morsi.

The Popular Current denounced Patterson's recent statement in which she referred to violence that, she said, usually accompanies protests.

"This is considered to be direct interference in Egyptian domestic affairs," the group's statement read. "The Egyptian people will rise victorious by their own free will, without advice or recommendations from anyone."

It was reported that leaders of the Popular Current had been among those who met with Patterson. The group strenuously denied these reports.

The "Rebel" campaign — a signature drive launched in May with the intention of "withdrawing confidence" from Morsi by collecting 15 million citizen endorsements for early elections — made the call for mass protests 30 June, the first anniversary of Morsi's coming to power, demanding the president's ouster.

In addition to gaining the endorsement of secular opposition parties and groups, including the National Salvation Front, the main opposition umbrella group, remnants of the old regime are confirmed to be supporting the campaign and its initiative to topple the present Islamist regime.

The Rebel campaign seeks to collect more endorsements than the number of votes Morsi garnered (roughly 13 million) in the last stage of 2012's presidential elections.

Already, on 29 May, the campaign announced that it had collected seven million signatures, less than a fortnight after its launch. It is yet to reveal the final number of amassed endorsements. It accuses the Morsi administration of "failing to implement policies to improve the life of ordinary people," citing Egypt's increasingly dire economic situation, among other factors.

Morsi was inaugurated as president 30 June 2012 after narrowly beating rival Ahmed Shafiq in the presidential elections' runoffs.

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