A parliamentary committee on Wednesday denounced a legislator who had called on the nation's security earlier to shoot at demonstrators with live bullets and described them as “wreaking havoc on Egypt's security. In a strongly-worded denunciation, members of the People's Assembly's Legislative Committee said it was unbecoming of Nachaat el-Qasas, a member of the ruling National Democratic Party, to ask policemen to kill protestors. “He should defend freedoms instead,” said the members of the committee in a statement on Wednesday. El-Qasas sent shockwaves across Egypt on 20 April when he said Egypt's security men should have no leniency in dealing with protestors who called for political and constitutional reform. Apart from making human rights activists angry, el-Qasas's pronouncements involved some of the officials of the ruling party in a long process of condemnation. Secretary General of the party Safwat el-Sheif lashed out at him and said Egyptians had the constitutional right to protest peacefully. Members of the Legislative Committee in Parliament said they were “sorry” for his statements because they reflected a lack of respect for legality and the Egyptian constitution. Egypt has brimmed with protests of all sorts for some time now. Pro-democracy groups, professionals, and ordinary Egyptians take to the streets from day to day to demand political reform, salary raise, or even protest food prices.
