Presidency says its war is on terrorism

Presidential adviser Mostafa Hegazy said in a televised presser on Saturday that the Egyptian government welcomes local and international efforts to convince the Muslim Brotherhood to return to negotiations. 

Hegazy slammed media reports using unknown sources and claiming that there were reconciliation initiatives by the Muslim Brotherhood that the Egyptian government has rejected.

He added that the government had repeatedly called on the Brotherhood to resolve the conflict through negotiations in the last 10 days of Ramadan. After the month lapsed, the Cabinet mandated the Ministry of Interior to take all necessary measures to fight terrorism, which translated into the forcible dispersal of the main sit-ins of the Muslim Brotherhood on August 14. 

Asked by an international reporter whether there was an excessive use of force by the police while dispersing the sit-ins, Hegazy said, "What was followed as a procedure was transparent [in a situation] of dismantling a non-peaceful assembly. [It happened] in front of television cameras. Human rights organizations were invited to be part of what happened. In the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in, extremist forces had snipers on top of buildings sniping officers. There was a huge amount of self-restraint."

"We are not facing political divisions," he said. "We are facing a war waged by extremists developing daily into terrorism. It's unacceptable to call what's happening political divisions."

Hegazy also slammed the media for ignoring the attacks on churches, the Museum of Mallawy, the villages of Minya and Beni Suef in Upper Egypt, the Kerdasa Police Station and others, the killing of policemen and the mutilation of their corpses. 

He dismissed allegations that church attacks are manufactured by the regime to incriminate the Brotherhood by referring to statements by Brotherhood spokesperson Ahmed Aref, whereby he admits that these attacks are retaliatory expressions by fellow Brotherhood members in the aftermath of the forcible dispersal of the sit-ins. 

Hegazy criticized international players for not respecting Egyptians' will to put an end to religious fascism while they are proponents of people's free will. He referred to Al-Qaeda banners raised by Islamist protesters in clashes in the Ramses area on Friday and to the extremist Taliban regime's criticism of the police crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood as signs of the condition that these international players are endorsing. 

Responding to queries on whether there is a move toward dissolving the Muslim Brotherhood, Hegazy said that the government is more interested in legalizing the work of any group operating in Egypt. He said that lawsuits against members of the Muslim Brotherhood will start as soon as all those against whom arrest warrants have been issued are in custody. 

He also dismissed reports that the government is encouraging popular committees to support the police and the Armed Forces in its fight against the Muslim Brotherhood. "Civilian help outside the scope of the rule of law is not accepted. Anything that is not done through the police and the Armed Forces is not something we accept," he said.