Brussels, 09/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 9 July, a European official stressed the importance of including the Muslim Brotherhood in the process of political dialogue. “The political dialogue will not work if it is not inclusive and if the Muslim Brotherhood does not take part”, the official said, stating that the Muslim Brotherhood is one, if not the major, party of the country, and calling for the party not to be criminalised. The previous day, an Egyptian source told EUROPE that no process will be a success without the Muslim Brotherhood's participation. Although this Egyptian source stressed that the roadmap has been developed with numerous political forces and religious authorities, the European official believes that “no military roadmap is acceptable”. “The fact that the army is taking decisions on the political future is not acceptable (…). The process must be in the hands of all the political parties (…). Only a roadmap accepted by all the parties will be credible for a complete transition and democracy”, the official stated.
Before being able to set the political dialogue up, the European official said that the violence must cease. “Work must be done to overcome the violence (…). When the situation is overcome, it will be possible to work for a political dialogues”, the official added.
The European official explained that work must also be done on the region where the Egyptian problems have an impact - such as Libya. And the serious economic problems of the country must not be forgotten and must be tackled urgently because they can have a negative impact on the process, the official added.
Ashton calls for calm and reconciliation. During the evening of the previous day, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton called on all parties, “but particularly on the interim presidency and those in a position of authority and influence, to reach out to all political forces, and to move rapidly toward reconciliation”. “All those who claim legitimacy must act in a responsible way for the good of the country and avoid any provocation or escalation of violence”, added Ashton's spokesperson. There are over 50 pro-Morsi protesters who have reportedly been killed in the confrontations with police at the headquarters of the Republican Guard.
Ashton notes that an inquiry has been set up into these “tragic events” and hopes that the inquiry “will be conducted quickly, in a thorough and impartial manner”, her spokesperson stated in a press release. The spokesperson said that Ashton reiterates “in the strongest possible terms her call for utmost restraint and an immediate end to the violence”. “Dialogue and inclusiveness are the only way forward in speedily restoring a civilian and democratic framework”, the spokesperson added.
On 9 July, the economist Hazem al-Beblawi, a former minister of finance, was appointed Prime Minister of Egypt, and Mohamed ElBaradei was appointed Vice-President responsible for international relations. The interim president also announced that parliamentary elections should take place before 2014. (CG/transl.fl)