Presidential hopeful Mohamed Selim al-Awa was forced to cut short a speech at the London School of Economics on Wednesday night, after loud chants made it impossible for him to continue, said news reports.
State-owned news agency MENA said that Egyptian nationals living in London who attended the symposium at the News Theater Hall interrupted Awa as soon as he began speaking and began chanting slogans against him due to statements he has made in support of Egypt's ruling military council.
The BBC Arabic website on Thursday said a group Egyptians critical of Awa, Islamists and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces interrupted Awa five minutes after he began speaking and asked him to leave immediately.
One woman in the audience angrily asked Awa, "By what right are you thinking of nominating yourself for president while supporting the SCAF that has committed crimes against the Egyptian people?"
Within seconds, in what seemed to be a pre-planned outburst, a number of people began loudly chanting: "Down with military rule," "Get out, get out … Awa should leave," and "The military and the Muslim Brotherhood have no place here.” The protesters were of different age groups.
The BBC Arabic website said that Awa left the hall guarded by security officers after the chants against him escalated.
In an interview with privately-owned Al-Hayat channel on 24 November, Awa said that the armed forces are the best authority to run the country during the transition, and that transferring power to a civilian body should not be permitted yet.
