Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said on Friday that the government was taking security precautions ahead of opposition demonstrations scheduled for 30 June and that he was concerned by what he said were calls for violence.
Speaking during a midnight television interview after the Muslim Brotherhood staged a rally in Cairo to demonstrate support for President Mohamed Morsy, Qandil said peaceful protests would be protected but warned that no one was above the law.
Morsy and the Brotherhood have turned their organizational prowess into electoral success since the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak, but a diverse opposition coalition now hopes to force Morsy to resign by demonstrating en masse on the first anniversary of his inauguration on 30 June.
"What we hear in terms of calls for violence here and there worries me a lot," Qandil said. "We are preparing for 30 June in terms of security and raising awareness among the people so they commit to peaceful demonstrations.
"Since the revolution, the only way to deal with peaceful protesters is to protect them."
But Qandil warned that anyone who acted outside of the law would face penalties and made clear that the Islamists will not give in to the power of the street, insisting on the democratic legitimacy of the administration: "Real change comes through the ballot box," Qandil said.
