The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group is agitating against youth calling for peaceful protests on Friday, said that Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) on Thursday.
The MB had already said it would boycott the large-scale protests urged by Egyptian political groups calling for the prosecution of deposed President Hosni Mubarak and corrupt figures of his regime.
In a statement on Wednesday, the group said the Friday protests were “against the people” and aim at “provoking division between the people and the armed forces.” The Brotherhood pledged to stage counter-protests in Alexandria.
However, ANHRI said that the Muslim Brotherhood is now acting like the National Democratic Party, which used to curb freedoms and agitate against those calling for reform.
“The Muslim Brotherhood is trying to incite the ruling military council against the political forces calling for protests, which raises strong doubts about the group’s position vis-à-vis civil and political freedoms,” the statement added.
“We’re no longer surprised by Brotherhood stances toward peaceful protests. We have heard many statements over the past years from group figures that incite hatred,” ANHRI director Gamal Eid said.
“Egyptian citizens don’t need permission from any authorities to practice their right to collectively express their opinion through peaceful protest," he continued.
"While the Muslim Brotherhood has the right to adopt an opinion that is opposite to that of other political forces, it doesn’t have the right to suppress these peaceful protests. This is one of the main features of the democratic transform that we’ve been looking for.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition
