Foreign Ministry spokesperson Amr Roshdy on Sunday denied reports that the ministry ordered Egyptian diplomatic missions abroad to defend Morsy’s constitutional declaration.
Roshdy’s denial came after independent daily Al-Watan reported that Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr gave instructions in a dispatch to defend the declaration and respond to criticism of President Mohamed Morsy.
In a statement, Roshdy said that the ministry serves national interests and not political regimes.
“In response to what has been circulated over instructions given to Egyptian consulates and embassies abroad to defend the recently-issued constitutional declaration, those reports that referred to letters between the ministry and foreign missions including a statement by the Cabinet were untrue,” the statement said.
“Notifying the Egyptian embassies and consulates abroad about official statements is a routine procedure that the ministry takes periodically to inform them about local developments,” Roshdy added.
“The Foreign Ministry is a public national institution owned by all Egyptians. It doesn’t take the side of any political trends or adopt special views related to local affairs. Its only role is to defend national interests, which doesn’t change even when political regimes change,” he said.
On Thursday, President Mohamed Morsy issued a constitutional declaration stipulating that his decisions cannot be challenged by the judiciary. He also replaced the prosecutor general. The move sparked immediate protests, and several courts went on strike as a result.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
