'Morsi has exceeded Mubarak': Egypt's opposition
Ahram Online, Thursday 29 Nov 2012
Opposition forces blast Egypt's draft national charter, call on public to mobilise against President Morsi's 'authoritarian' decree


Leftist, liberal and independent political forces met Thursday at the headquarters of Egypt's Socialist Popular Alliance Party (SPAP) to comment on the current political crisis and planned weekend protests.

Meeting attendees included members of the SPAP, the Constitution Party, the Popular Current movement, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Free Egyptians Party, the Free Egypt Party, the 6 April youth movement, the National Front for Justice and Democracy, the Lotus Revolution Coalition and the Maspero Youth Coalition, among others.

In a joint press statement released after the meeting, attendees called on Egyptians nationwide to take to the streets on Friday in planned demonstrations to demand that Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi reverse last week's "authoritarian" presidential decree.

"The only way to break the current impasse is to listen to the pulse of the street, as opposed to following a group that has attempted to steal the revolution," the statement read.

They further called on protesters to avoid clashing with pro-Morsi rallies planned by the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist parties for Saturday in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

The statement went on to accuse Morsi of adopting the methods of ousted president Hosni Mubarak. "This is certainly proof of the quivering regime, which cannot withstand such public outrage and uses force," the statement read.

"Morsi has exceeded Mubarak by attempting to drive the country into civil war, of which only he will be held responsible for," the statement warned.

Commenting on the constitutional draft currently being voted on by Egypt's Constituent Assembly, they claimed the draft charter was "void" and thus could not be put before public referendum.

"This is a constitution drafted by an illegitimate assembly that represents only one political current and is not representative of Egyptian society at large," the statement read.

They reiterated their rejection of the same practice seen in last year's March referendum on the constitution, which "largely resulted in the division of Egyptian society."

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