A vote on Morsi last July would have prevented rift in Egypt: Islamist leader

A prominent member of Egypt's largest pro-Morsi grouping says the deposed president's supporters are to blame for the rupture now dividing the country

Magdy Qorqor, a leading member of Egypt's largest Islamist alliance, said the binary division currently engulfing the country could have been prevented if Muslim Brotherhood supporters had agreed to hold a referendum on deposed president Mohamed Morsi prior to his ouster.
In a Sunday evening interview with privately-owned Al-Tahrir TV channel, Qorqor -- a long-time member of the Islamist New Labour Party and a leader in the pro-Morsi National Alliance to Support Legitimacy (NASL) -- also said the alliance acknowledges that Egypt's current reality now exceeds their demand for Morsi's reinstatement.
The prominent Islamist additionally stated that he denounces violence, whether practised by protesters or security forces.
His comments come only days after a number of pro-Morsi political forces unveiled in a press conference in Brussels what they dubbed a "charter of principles" to reclaim the 25 January uprising, urging "revolutionary forces" to rally behind the document.
The 10-article document listed a series of demands including: a pluralist administration of the country, the army's return to the barracks and disengagement from politics, transitional and social justice, the safeguarding of general freedoms and rights, the protection of dignity and the uprooting of corruption.
Representatives of the NASL, a 14-party Islamist coalition, said they were still considering the initiative, adding that some of the group's members have "individually" endorsed the document.
“The alliance is not making any demands that contradict the Brussels' document,” said Qorqor, stressing that those who announced the initiative from the Belgian capital did not insist on Morsi's reinstatement per se but, rather, on what they described as a “return to the democratic path”.
Islamists and supporters of the deposed president have consistently refused to acknowledge the mass protests that contextualised his ouster last summer, accusing the military of staging a coup that sabotaged democracy.
Qorqor added that the alliance remains committed to its three demands: “regaining the 25 January revolution and the democratic path, defeating the coup, and safeguarding the rights of the martyrs and the injured”.
He further pointed out that the conference held in Brussels does not signify the alliance has ceased to operate.
He explained that since the alliance's “Islamist character” may discourage other forces from joining its ranks, the Brussels document – which, according to Qorqor, endorses the same principles of the NASL while incorporating non-Islamist members – was agreed upon.
This is not the first time Morsi supporters have attempted to mend broken bridges with secular revolutionaries who oppose both the interim authorities and the Muslim Brotherhood.
An earlier effort by the now-outlawed Islamist group, made days before the third anniversary of the 2011 revolution, was seen by non-Brotherhood opponents of interim authorities as an unresponsive call and a failed attempt at apology.
Initiatives by third parties to mediate reconciliation talks between the Brotherhood and the post-30 June 2013 government have invariably reached a deadlock. Meanwhile, a strong anti-Brotherhood sentiment continues to sweep the country, with countless Egyptians blaming the group for the ongoing unrest, and condemning their persistent refusal to acknowledge the interim authorities.
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