Former MPs Mostafa Bakry and Mohamed Abou Hamed criticized the changes President Mohamed Morsy made to the Egyptian military on Sunday, with Bakry describing them as “an attempt by the Brotherhood to take control of the country.”
Earlier in the day, Morsy replaced head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Hussein Tantawi and Chief of Staff Sami Anan, and canceled the supplement to Constitutional Declaration, which was passed by the SCAF on 17 June and limited the president's powers.
Bakry told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Morsy’s decisions were wrong because they overthrew the leadership of the SCAF, which has maintained the integrity of the country since the beginning of the 25 January revolution.
“Sending them to retirement is an attempt by [Morsy] to avoid the wrath of the masses regarding the Rafah events,” he added, referring to a militant attack on a border station near the Egypt-Israel border on 5 August that left 16 Egyptian border guards dead.
Abou Hamed said he will stand against Morsy’s recent decisions. He confirmed his intention to continue to mobilize the public in mass demonstrations against the Muslim Brotherhood on 24 August.
“We will face the thuggery of the Brotherhood and Morsy,” Abou Hamed said, stressing that the recent decisions are an attempt by the Brotherhood to acquire control of “all state institutions, especially after sending Tantawi and Anan to retirement and controlling the media and press.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
