Political factions are divided over participating in an anti-Muslim Brotherhood demonstration on 24 August, Mona El-Nahhas reports Trying to maintain Egypt's entity as a civil state, several political figures and movements are calling upon the public to take to the streets on 24 August in a bid to virtually overthrow the Muslim Brotherhood. Mohamed Abu Hamed, former parliamentary member, and Tawfiq Okasha, chairman of the recently banned Faraeen TV station, will lead the protesters who stressed the peaceful nature of their demonstration. "24 August will be a new revolution against an illegal group which is trying to build a state within a state," Abu Hamed said in press statements. Abu Hamed is accused of having ties with figures of the former regime. Okasha has used his channel to attack the 25 January Revolution and the Brotherhood. He is facing criminal charges for inciting the assassination of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi who took office last month. Movements known for their support of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and of former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik including the Memorial Cenotaph demonstrators and the Egyptian Front for the Protection of the Armed Forces are said to be taking part. Since the 24 August demonstration was called for over the Internet, there has been much talk about targeting headquarters of the MB that day. In retaliation or defence, the MB is reportedly using armed militia to protect their headquarters. The MB has drawn up a plan to protect its headquarters on the day of the demonstration through coordinating with the security apparatus and the Armed Forces. Group members and supporters were assigned with forming public committees that will be responsible for safeguarding the headquarters on that day. MB lawyer Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud said complaints accusing Okasha, Abu Hamed and Internet web pages of incitement, assaulting and burning down the group's headquarters have been filed at the State Security Prosecution. Fearing that Egypt would enter into a circle of bloody violence on that day, several political parties, despite opposing policies of the MB and decrees made by President Mohamed Mursi, still decided not to take part in the 24 August demonstration. The 6 April Youth Movement, the Kifaya Movement, the Second Egyptian Anger Revolution Movement and the Revolution Youth Federation together with liberal and leftist political parties have so far announced their boycott of the demonstration. Abdel-Ghaffar Shukr, a leading founder of the leftist Socialist Popular Alliance Party, stressed that his party will not take part in any demonstration called for by Okasha. "The call for overthrowing President Mursi in this way shortly after his election contradicts with democratic concepts," Shukr said. "Regardless of our reservations about Mursi's performance, we have other peaceful tools to press for our demands," Shukr noted. The Social Democratic Egyptian Party declared its strong opposition to the demonstration. Party members urged the necessity to adopt a peaceful and democratic approach when opposing the policies of a certain political trend. "Although we have reservations of the MB policies and their attempts to control the media and the press and to build a religious state, we are not going to take part in such demonstration simply because those who call for it are trying to bring back the former regime," said Ayman Abul-Ela, a member of the party's higher committee. The liberal Wafd Party decided earlier this week to boycott the demonstration. "The Wafd respects the ballot box that brought the MB to the top of the political scene. Everyone should respect electoral legitimacy," Wafd Chairman El-Sayed El-Badawi stated. During a rally held on 9 August at Kom Hamada city, in the Beheira governorate, former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi stated that he will not participate in the 24 August demonstration, which he said "is not going to be peaceful". Sabahi pledged to defend the headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of the MB, if it is attacked. "He who allows the burning of the FJP headquarters would allow the burning of all other party headquarters," Sabahi said. While opposing Mursi's policies, Sabahi said he stood firmly against attempts to overthrow the president. "A free democratic election is the only means to do this," Sabahi said, calling for giving Mursi another 100-day deadline to implement his electoral programme. In a statement issued after a meeting of its secretariat-general on Sunday, the leftist Tagammu Party called for widespread public action "to oppose attempts which aim at turning Egypt into an MB emirate, ruled by the office of the supreme guide of the group." The statement called for standing firmly against attempts to control the state-owned media and press and announced the party's total objection of all "dictatorial measures" taken by Mursi and by the MB cabinet against voices from the opposition camp. Finally, the statement called for respecting freedoms, basic elements of the civil state and citizenship rights. Egypt's National Party, one of the newborn parties founded after the 25 January Revolution said in a statement that party members will participate in the demonstration to express their rejection of decrees made by President Mursi, which it added served only the interests of the MB.
