Tamarod calls for protests against ‘foreign intervention’

Tamarod leaders called for rallies on Thursday to show support for the government against “foreign intervention,” reported the privately owned Al-Shorouk newspaper, citing the state-run Middle East News Agency.

Tamarod (Rebel) is the grassroots petition campaign that spearheaded the June 30 protests that led to former President Mohamed Morsi’s removal from office by the military on July 3.

The demonstrations would take place in Tahrir Square and the Ettehadiya Presidential Palace. They are meant to affirm that the government should defend itself against “flagrant foreign intervention in domestic affairs,” said Al-Shorouk.

On Wednesday, Tamarod issued a statement rejecting US Senator John McCain’s definition of recent political events in Egypt as a “military coup,” the paper added.

The call for protests comes a day after the interim presidency announced that international mediation efforts had failed to bring an end to the long-drawn political impasse between the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters on the one hand, and the current military-backed government and its backers on the other.

For over 10 days, US, European and Qatari officials have attempted to broker an agreement between the Muslim Brotherhood and the interim government installed following Morsi’s ouster.