Brotherhood tells Ashton 'Morsi should be reinstated'

18/07/2013| IslamWeb

Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed al-Beltagi said his group had insisted, at a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, on the reinstatement of ousted president Mohamed Morsi as a precondition for national dialogue and reconciliation.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ashton had met with former international cooperation minister Amr Darrag and former local government minister Mohamed Ali Beshr – both Muslim Brotherhood leaders – along with ex-premier Hisham Qandil.

"The meeting aimed to send three messages: to condemn the EU position, which failed to denounce the military coup; to highlight arbitrary measures (taken against MB leaders) by the coup leaders; and to reiterate our rejection of the coup and insist on the reinstatement of constitutional legitimacy," al-Beltagi said.

No statements were issued by the Brotherhood leaders who met with Ashton on Wednesday.

The military ousted Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's elected president, on July 3 following protests against his regime.

The army also suspended the constitution and installed the head of the constitutional court, Adly Mansour, as interim president.

Adly later issued a constitutional declaration dissolving the Islamist-dominated Shura Council, the upper house of Egypt's parliament.
Since Morsi's ouster, hundreds of thousands of his supporters have taken to the streets nationwide in mass demonstrations and sit-ins to defend his legitimacy and demand his reinstatement.

Earlier Wednesday, Ashton had met with interim President Mansour, Vice-President for International Affairs Mohamed ElBaradei and Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

The EU's top diplomat also met members of Tamarod, the movement that helped launch the protests that culminated in Morsi's overthrow.

Ashton's two-day visit to Egypt is the second such trip by a high-level western official since Morsi's removal.

US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns left Cairo early on Tuesday after concluding the first visit by a senior US official since Morsi's ouster.

PHOTO CAPTION

Egypt's interim President Adli Mansour (R) shakes hands with new interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi after being sworn in at El-Thadiya presidential palace in Cairo in this handout picture dated July 16, 2013.

Agencies