Former head of the Democratic Front Party, Osama al-Ghazaly Harb, and journalist Sekina Fouad said they submitted their resignations from the Advisory Council in protest of the military council’s handling of the Port Said incidents and the NGO raids.
Harb told Al-Masry Al-Youm that “the Advisory Council is an insult and a shame. I feel regret for the period I during which I was a member.” Harb added that the council includes members who have tight relations with security forces and officials.
The council’s handling of the NGO foreign funding investigation was one of the reasons he resigned, Harb said.
He added that some council members were trying to tarnish the images of civil society organizations that had exposed violations of the previous regime or were engaged in political or revolutionary activism.
Harb claimed that the Advisory Council is merely a tool to grant legitimacy to the Supreme Council of the Armed forces, evidenced by the fact that state-run newspapers would report on the agenda of Advisory Council meetings days before they even happened.
Fouad said that she does not want to take part in tarnishing the image of the revolution and the revolutionaries.
She said she demanded greater transparency and clarity more than once during council discussions, especially concerning the detainment of activists and accusations involving foreign agendas and foreign funding.
Fouad said that membership in the Advisory Council at this point is tantamount to supporting the counterrevolution, adding that she had joined the council with the hope of helping honest citizens and correcting societal ills.
Many members have already resigned from the council, including the council’s secretary general, Mohamed Nour Farahat.
