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| Opponents of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi rally in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, July 7, 2013. Egypt's new leadership wrangled over the naming of a prime minister, as both the Muslim Brotherhood and their opponents called for new mass rallies Sunday, renewing fears of another round of street violence over the military's ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Photograph in the back shows Egyptian Army Chief Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. |
CAIRO (AP) --
Egyptian officials say a liberal economist has emerged as a strong
candidate for prime minister after hours of negotiations between secular
and liberal factions and ultraconservative Islamist.
A
spokesman for the interim president told Egypt's ONTV that Ziad
Bahaa-Eldin is the top candidate for the post with reform leader
Mohammed ElBaradei taking a vice president post.
Bahaa-Eldin tells The Associated Press he "is still thinking about it."
The
48-year-old economist's name emerged after an ultraconservative Salafi
party blocked an attempt to appoint ElBaradei as prime minister.
A
senior official in the National Salvation Front says ElBaradei and
Bahaa-Eldin would work "as a team." The official spoke on condition of
anonymity because the discussions were still ongoing.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Feuding
erupted within Egypt's new leadership on Sunday as secular and liberal
factions wrangled with ultraconservative Islamists who rejected their
choice for prime minister, stalling the formation of a new government
after the military's ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.
At
the same time, the shows of strength over the removal of Egypt's first
freely elected president were far from ending, with tens of thousands in
the streets Sunday from each side. The military deployed troops at key
locations in Cairo and other cities amid fears of renewed violence.
The
Muslim Brotherhood pushed ahead with its campaign of protests aimed at
forcing Morsi's reinstatement, bringing out large crowds in new rallies.
Its officials vowed the group would not be "terrorized" by arrests of
their leaders and the shutdown of their media outlets.
The
Brotherhood's opponents, in turn, called out large rallies in Tahrir
Square and other squares in Cairo and several cities to defend against
an Islamist counter-push. Military warplanes swooped over the crowd
filling Tahrir, drawing a heart shape and an Egyptian flag in the sky
with colored smoke.
Two days ago, clashes between the rival camps left at least 36 dead and more than 1,000 injured nationwide.
Senior
Brotherhood members Saad Emara said there was no possibility for any
negotiations with the new leadership after "all betrayed us," and
following the military's clampdown on the group.
"We
are not regressing to a Mubarak era but to ... a totalitarian regime,"
he told The Associated Press.
"Anything other than protest is suicide."
Morsi
and five top Brotherhood figures are currently in detention, and around
200 others have arrest warrants out against them. The group's TV
station and three other pro-Morsi Islamist stations were put off the
air. Among those detained is Badie's deputy Khairat el-Shater, seen as
the most powerful figure in the group and its main decision-maker.
The
wrestling over the prime minister spot underlined the divisions with
the collection of factions that backed the military when it pushed Morsi
out of office on Wednesday and installed a senior judge, Adly Mansour,
as an interim president.
At center stage of
the feuding is the ultraconservative Salafi al-Nour Party, the sole main
Islamist faction that sided with the mainly secular groups that led the
charge against Morsi. On Saturday, the party blocked the appointment of
reform leader Mohammed ElBaradei, a favorite of liberal, leftist and
secular groups, as prime minister.
Another
member of the coalition, Tamarod, the main organization behind the
massive protests last week calling for Morsi ouster, said ElBaradei was
still its candidate for the post. It railed against al-Nour on Sunday,
accusing it of "blackmail" and "arm-twisting."
Showing
the outside pressures on al-Nour, Emara of the Brotherhood said al-Nour
"has lost credibility and trust after they sided with the takeover" - a
sign the Brotherhood hopes to draw the party's Salafi supporters behind
it in the streets alongside other Islamists.
The
prime minister is to be the real power in whatever interim government
emerges, since the president's post will be largely symbolic. The prime
minister will also likely have strong influence on the process of
writing a new constitution.
That's a major
concern of al-Nour, which pushed hard for the Islamic character of the
charter pushed through under Morsi's administration, which was suspended
after his ouster.
Mohammed Aboul-Ghar, the
leader of the liberal Egyptian Socialist Democratic Party, said al-Nour
initially agreed to ElBaradei taking the post, but then shifted its
position for unknown reasons. He said talks are still ongoing through
mediators.
Abdullah Badran, a leading al-Nour
lawmaker, said there was "a misunderstanding" and that it hadn't
accepted ElBaradei. The party has asked for 48 hours to propose
alternatives, he said, adding that it will finalize its position but
will not back ElBaradei.
"This sensitive
period requires an independent who can win consensus not cause more
divisions and polarization," he told The Associated Press. "We don't
want prejudices because it would only lead to more divisions."
He
said that objections to ElBaradei are rooted in his lack of popularity
not only among Islamists but among a large sector of Egyptians.
ElBaradei,
a 71-year-old Nobel Peace laureate for his time as head of the U.N.
nuclear watchdog, is an inspiring figure among the leftists, secular and
revolutionary youth groups behind the 2011 uprising that toppled
autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Word on Saturday that he would be appointed
prime minister sparked cheers among many of their ranks, believing he
can push a strong reform agenda.
But he is deeply distrusted as too secular among many Islamists and seen by much of the public as elite.
Walid
el-Masry, of Tamarod, said al-Nour is using the ElBaradei issue to
press liberals on the constitution, worried about changes to the
Islamist-drafted charter.
"They are afraid
about the articles that concern the state's Islamic identity," he said,
adding that the liberals assured Salafis that they won't touch these
articles.
Al-Nour was once an ally of Morsi
but broke with him over the course of his year in office, saying his
Brotherhood was trying to monopolize power, even over other Islamists.
When the June 30 wave of anti-Morsi protests began, the party called on
its followers to stay neutral. But it supported the military's
intervention to remove the president, joining in talks with army chief
Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
Meanwhile, the
Brotherhood and their opponents sought to show their power in the
streets. The Islamists have denounced the removal of Morsi as an army
coup against democracy. Their opponents have aruged the president had
squandered his electoral mandate and that the Brotherhood was putting
Egypt on an undemocratic path.
Tamarod, Arabic
for "Rebel," called on its supporters to turn out to defend "popular
legitimacy" and "confirm the victory achieved in the June 30 wave." By
Sunday evening, large crowds filled Tahrir Square and the streets
outside the Ittihadiya presidential palace.
Pro-Morsi
rallies turned out in several places around the city, centered outside
the Rabaah al-Adawiya Mosque where they have been holding a sit-in for
more than a week.
In a Facebook posting
Sunday, the Brotherhood's supreme leader Mohammed Badie said the
"leaders of the unconstitutional coup continue flagrant violations
against the Egyptian people."
A Brotherhood
spokesman, Gehad el-Haddad, said the military is not giving any positive
signals for the group to be willing to talk, pointing to the arrests of
the leadership figures and shutdowns of media.
"They are trying to terrorize us," he said.
Outside
Rabaa al-Adawiya, Brotherhood supporters waved flags as young men
wearing makeshift helmets jogged in place and did calisthenics, as part
of security teams the group says are to defend its rallies from attack.
"Do
we not deserve democracy, aren't we worth anything?" said an emotional
Alaa el-Saim, a retired army engineer in a broad-brimmed hat to protect
from the sun. He pointed to the shooting by troops on Friday of
pro-Morsi protesters. "It's the first time I've seen that, the army
shoots at us with weapons they bought with the taxes I paid."
Khaled Galal, a young bearded man in a skull cap, called the army's actions the "rape of legitimacy."
"Muslims aren't allowed democracy, and when we pick up weapons to defend it we get called terrorists," he said.
