SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Opposition Defiant After Morsi Rescinds Decree
Despite demands, Egyptian President refuses to postpone controversial referendum
Dec 09, 2012
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi announced late Saturday that despite annulling the controversial decree that placed his office above judicial review, he refused to postpone the upcoming December 15 vote on the draft constitution, as protesters demand.
A spokesperson for opposition group National Salvation Front (NSF) said annulling the decree was "relatively meaningless".
"The key issue of securing the process of adopting of the constitution is done," Khaled Dawood told Al Jazeera.
The front is reportedly meeting later on Sunday to make a formal response to Morsi's decision to scrap the decree.
Mid-East blogger, Juan Cole, reports that the NSF coalition had also "called for Egypt's youth to continue to mass peacefully in 'all the squares of Egypt' until their other demand, that the referendum on the Muslim Brotherhood constitution, is canceled. They appear to be setting the state for a massive general strike."
In response, Morsi's government began to erect a wall on Sunday around his presidential palace to block any attempt by anti-government protesters from reaching the palace gates, Al Jazeera reports.
When asked whether the opposition's goal was to unseat Morsi, NSF spokesman Dawood replied: "This is definitely not in our agenda at all. Our agenda is basically limited to having a new draft constitution that everybody is satisfied about before going to a referendum."
He added, "We respect he was elected with 51.7 per cent of the vote, but 48 per cent did not vote for him. That means that he has to compromise, he has to build consensus."
The opposition has repeatedly said that the constitution, drafted by an Islamic constituent assembly, disregards the rights of women and ignores personal freedoms.
Saturday's announcement came hours after a Morsi-led 'national dialogue' to discuss the controversial referendum and ongoing protests. The ten-hour talks were boycotted by the country's primary political opposition groups, including leading anti-Morsi figure Mohamed ElBaradei.
_______________________
_______________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi announced late Saturday that despite annulling the controversial decree that placed his office above judicial review, he refused to postpone the upcoming December 15 vote on the draft constitution, as protesters demand.
A spokesperson for opposition group National Salvation Front (NSF) said annulling the decree was "relatively meaningless".
"The key issue of securing the process of adopting of the constitution is done," Khaled Dawood told Al Jazeera.
The front is reportedly meeting later on Sunday to make a formal response to Morsi's decision to scrap the decree.
Mid-East blogger, Juan Cole, reports that the NSF coalition had also "called for Egypt's youth to continue to mass peacefully in 'all the squares of Egypt' until their other demand, that the referendum on the Muslim Brotherhood constitution, is canceled. They appear to be setting the state for a massive general strike."
In response, Morsi's government began to erect a wall on Sunday around his presidential palace to block any attempt by anti-government protesters from reaching the palace gates, Al Jazeera reports.
When asked whether the opposition's goal was to unseat Morsi, NSF spokesman Dawood replied: "This is definitely not in our agenda at all. Our agenda is basically limited to having a new draft constitution that everybody is satisfied about before going to a referendum."
He added, "We respect he was elected with 51.7 per cent of the vote, but 48 per cent did not vote for him. That means that he has to compromise, he has to build consensus."
The opposition has repeatedly said that the constitution, drafted by an Islamic constituent assembly, disregards the rights of women and ignores personal freedoms.
Saturday's announcement came hours after a Morsi-led 'national dialogue' to discuss the controversial referendum and ongoing protests. The ten-hour talks were boycotted by the country's primary political opposition groups, including leading anti-Morsi figure Mohamed ElBaradei.
_______________________
_______________________
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi announced late Saturday that despite annulling the controversial decree that placed his office above judicial review, he refused to postpone the upcoming December 15 vote on the draft constitution, as protesters demand.
A spokesperson for opposition group National Salvation Front (NSF) said annulling the decree was "relatively meaningless".
"The key issue of securing the process of adopting of the constitution is done," Khaled Dawood told Al Jazeera.
The front is reportedly meeting later on Sunday to make a formal response to Morsi's decision to scrap the decree.
Mid-East blogger, Juan Cole, reports that the NSF coalition had also "called for Egypt's youth to continue to mass peacefully in 'all the squares of Egypt' until their other demand, that the referendum on the Muslim Brotherhood constitution, is canceled. They appear to be setting the state for a massive general strike."
In response, Morsi's government began to erect a wall on Sunday around his presidential palace to block any attempt by anti-government protesters from reaching the palace gates, Al Jazeera reports.
When asked whether the opposition's goal was to unseat Morsi, NSF spokesman Dawood replied: "This is definitely not in our agenda at all. Our agenda is basically limited to having a new draft constitution that everybody is satisfied about before going to a referendum."
He added, "We respect he was elected with 51.7 per cent of the vote, but 48 per cent did not vote for him. That means that he has to compromise, he has to build consensus."
The opposition has repeatedly said that the constitution, drafted by an Islamic constituent assembly, disregards the rights of women and ignores personal freedoms.
Saturday's announcement came hours after a Morsi-led 'national dialogue' to discuss the controversial referendum and ongoing protests. The ten-hour talks were boycotted by the country's primary political opposition groups, including leading anti-Morsi figure Mohamed ElBaradei.
_______________________
_______________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.