Newspapers followed the efforts to fight terrorism in Sinai, end the protests in Rabaa Al-Adaweya and start the process of national dialogue and reconciliation. Al-Shorouk on Monday had ‘Open warfare against terrorism in Sinai'. Al-Masry Al-Youm wrote ‘Time for accountability in Sinai', and Al-Watan shed light on ‘Plan to stop MB leaders from escaping'. Al-Akhbar on Sunday wrote ‘Army destroys missile launching pad in Al-Agra [Sinai], kills four jihadists' and Al-Ahram stated ‘Al-Azhar starts negotiations on reconciliation'. Writers questioned why the government is not acting more firmly with protesters in Rabaa. Galal Dweidar expressed concern that the poor management of the crisis by the government headed by Hazem Al-Beblawi would make those who protested in the millions, and gave authorisation to the army and police to act, lose heart. “There is clear evidence that the government decided to be a spectator of the present play that is acted and directed by the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood (MB) to paralyse life in Egypt,” Dweidar wrote in his column in the official daily Al-Akhbar. He asked what the government was waiting for to end these protests after weeks of patience and anticipation and after all attempts to bring the protesters to their senses failed. He wondered whether the people were convinced that the authorisation that millions gave to protect the country was enough. Tarek Al-Ghazali Harb refused to describe the “criminal acts” taking place in Rabaa as peaceful protests because they do not comply with the laws and restrictions that organise the right of people to protest as a form of freedom of expression. Thus Harb did not expect that ending these gatherings would be that late, especially that more than two weeks had passed since the people gave the army and police the authorisation to end the situation. As a result, Harb said he felt bored and frustrated by the present government because it was the first government since the 25 January Revolution that could be described as the government of the revolution “because it has honest and revolutionary ministers that played an active role in fighting corruption and despotism since January 2011”. Thus he did not expect such a government to commit mistakes like stating that the governors reshuffle would be declared before Eid Al-Fitr but had not been announced up until after the Eid. These sorts of statements, Harb wrote, create confusion and remind people of the previous MB government. The writer also criticised various ministers for not making the needed changes until the protest in Rabaa ends. “What is the relationship between a few thousand protesting in Rabaa and the reluctance of the new ministers to start active, serious and brave changes in their ministries? Al-Beblawi's government should open the doors of hope for millions of Egyptians who feel frustrated these days and expect a lot from this government,” Harb wrote in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. Mahmoud Al-Nubi questioned whether Egypt has been on the right track since 3 July. The response to that question, he wrote, involved referring to the efforts exerted since issuing the constitutional declaration on 8 July including forming a government on 16 July, starting the process of amending the constitution and attempts to activate the national reconciliation process. The writer expressed his believe that the country is on the right track towards regaining democracy and stability in the light of the transitional government's keenness to include all the political currents in the political process. However, he added, it should be more careful in putting limits to provocative or violent language. “It is high time that all political currents realise that the clock does not go backward and that it is better for all of them to participate in the political process,” Al-Nubi wrote in the official daily Al-Ahram. Although the government showed patience in dealing with the protesters in Rabaa, its patience is wearing thin, he added. The writer ended his column by hoping that all state institutions will cooperate to end these protests in the framework of the law and legal restrictions that protect the lives of citizens. In his article ‘A protest in time', Emad Al-Ghazali said that he took this phrase from Mustafa Hegazi, the presidential consultant for political affairs who used it to describe the protests in Rabaa. Al-Ghazali agreed with Hegazi that it is an accurate description of the protesters who went out on 30 June and ignored whatever happened after that. MB leaders, he explained, are still talking about the return of Mohamed Morsi, his constitution and the Shura Council. They claim that they are willing to lose one million martyrs in defence of legitimacy and Sharia “and these are the lies by which they are recruiting people in Rabaa”. Al-Ghazali pointed to a few problems regarding Rabaa protests: it is not a group of protesters who oppose the government in certain policies, but oppose the present regime as a whole and challenges the will of millions. Second, there is confirmed evidence that the protests are not peaceful because there are various kinds of weapons and people trained to fight inside Rabaa. Third, the group whose president failed to rule is trying to practice the thing it does best — recruiting people and using provocative language and religious slogans. It can continue protesting for months to make the life of people hell or thwart the present regime. While the writer emphasised that he is against dissolving the protests by force, he expressed his wish that a political settlement is reached because the success or failure of dissolving the protests has its consequences. The failure to disperse the protests would make the MB more ferocious and will affect the people's trust in the ability of the police and army. However, the success in breaking up the protests is not the end of the story. “The government has to think and prepare properly for that moment because the MB will protest in other squares and would continue their plan to annoy people and make their lives difficult and obstruct the government,” Al-Ghazali wrote in the independent daily Al-Shorouk.
