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Mohammed Morsi: EU Calls for His Release Amid Growing Protests

Posted byBy ABS Contributor | Published on: | Updated on July 19, 2013 CommentsComments (0)

Muslim Brotherhood-led protests in Egypt continue unabated as international pressure on the interim government to free the toppled president, Mohammed Morsi, and return Egypt to democracy grows.

According to Al-Jazeera:

“Tens of thousands of people again took to the streets in the early hours of Thursday, with opponents and supporters of Morsi holding rival demonstrations in separate parts of Cairo.

“They came after EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton visited the city and called on the interim government to immediately free Morsi. He has been kept in since just hours after the military toppled him on July 3rd.

“I believe he should be released. I was assured he is well. I would have  liked to see him,” Ashton said.”

US  Still ‘Reviewing’  Morsi Situation

Two weeks after the toppling of president, Morsi on July 3, in what most observers has labeled a coup, the jury is still out for the Obama administration.

Reports voanews.com:

“In Amman, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters the Obama administration is reviewing whether Morsi’s overthrow this month by Egypt’s military should be considered a coup, which could require Washington to suspend about $1.5 billion in aid (of which $1.3 billion is in the form of military assistance).

“Kerry said the fact that Egypt has moved quickly into a “constitutional process” with a new interim Cabinet filled by  ‘incredibly competent people’ would be measured against the [U.S.] law.”

Egypt Forms Cabinet, Shuns Morsi Backers

According to the Wall Street Journal:

“Egypt’s two-week-old government appointed a cabinet of secular-leaning ministers Tuesday, over the objection of the ousted president’s supporters, adding to the once-powerful Islamists’ political isolation amid a rash of deadly street violence.

“Interim President Adly Mansour swore in the 34 ministers, forming a cabinet that the Muslim Brotherhood, which backed President Mohammed Morsi, declined to participate in.

“The leadership of Egypt’s new regime had pledged to form a government that included members of the jilted former ruling party, as well as the liberals and youth leaders who helped to spearhead Egypt’s revolution. “

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