Morsi: Divisions threaten to paralyse Egypt

27/06/2013| IslamWeb

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has said that the polarized state of the country's politics was threatening democracy and could plunge the nation into chaos.

In an address to the nation from Cairo on Wednesday, he acknowledged that he made errors but also blamed unspecified "enemies of Egypt" for damaging the democratic system that sprung out of the uprising of 2011.

"Political polarization and conflict has reached a stage that threatens our nascent democratic experience and threatens to put the whole nation in a state of paralysis and chaos," said Morsi.

"The enemies of Egypt have not spared effort in trying to sabotage the democratic experience," he added.

Hours before his speech, clashes between Morsi supporters and opponents killed at least one and injured about 230 people in the city of Mansoura, north of Cairo where Islamist supporters clashed with their opponents.

Earlier in the day, Egyptian military brought in reinforcements of troops and armour to bases near Egyptian cities ahead of expected June 30 protests, which will mark a year since Morsi took office.

'I have made mistakes'

The speech began promptly as scheduled, when Morsi, from the Muslim Brotherhood, offered greetings ahead of the major Islamic holiday of Ramadan, starting in about two weeks.

"I stand before you as an Egyptian citizen, not as the holder of an office, who is fearful for his country," he said before saying he would review his first year in office.

"Today, I present an audit of my first year, with full transparency, along with a road map. Some things were achieved and others not," Morsi said, without elaborating. "I have made mistakes on a number of issues."

Thousands of opponents gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, which played a key role in the 2011 revolution, to watch the speech.

PHOTO CAPTION

Egyptian opposition protesters gather in Tahrir Square during a demonstration against President Mohammed Morsi, prior to a televised national address by Morsi on June 26, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt.

Aljazeera