The Muslim Brotherhood decided Wednesday to protest in Tahrir Square Friday to express its rejection of former Vice President Omar Suleiman's presidential nomination.
The group announced it would participate with all political powers and coalitions in a million-man protest to "protect the revolution."
Mahmoud Hussein, the Brotherhood secretary general, said the rally will be staged in response to popular demand. The purpose of the rally is to resist attempts by those who served under former President Hosni Mubarak to reproduce a similar regime and restore the pre-revolution order.
Hussein added that the rally is part of a series of planned activities intended to reflect people's determination to protect the revolution and to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives to achieve revolutionary goals.
Mostafa Mohamed, an MP from the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, said, "None of the icons of Hosni Mubarak's regime should run in the elections."
He told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the organization was planning a protest, not a sit-in.
He said the protest would express the opinions of all political powers, not only the Brotherhood, adding that there will be no election publicity for Brotherhood presidential candidate Khairat al-Shater during the rally.
Saad Emara, a member of the Brotherhood Shura Council, emphasized the group's commitment to the revolution.
"The Brotherhood never ruled out the possibility of taking to Tahrir," Emara said. "We need to keep the revolutionary spirit alive …"
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
