Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy has stressed that a democratic government will not accept the continuation of sit-ins which use violence and intimidation and which are a threat to citizens’ safety.
Fahmy’s remarks to BBC World on Monday were made as news reports suggest that authorities in Egypt are about to disperse sit-ins held by Islamist supporters in demand of the reinstatement of deposed president Mohamed Morsy.
Morsy supporters have been staging major sit-ins at Rabaa al-Adaweya and al-Nahda squares since the former leader’s removal by the army in early July.
Asked about how the government would handle the sit-ins in both squares, Fahmy stressed that the right to peaceful protest is guaranteed to all citizens so long as protesters do not use violence, assault public facilities, or disrupt people’s daily lives.
The minister noted that dispersing the sit-in would be done through dialogue, if possible, or by the enforcement of the law.
Fahmy added that Egypt has undergone two popular revolutions and seeks the establishment of a modern, democratic state that ensures equality in gender, faith, and political affiliation.
