Presidential hopeful and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said only very few demonstrators demanded his resignation when he was in office. “We cannot consider a few standing in Tahrir Square as representing all the Egyptian people,” he added at a rally in Fayoum on Monday.
The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had sacked Shafiq in March 2011 in response to mass demonstrations demanding his removal, considering him part of the former regime. Revolutionaries accused Shafiq of mocking them when he said he would give them candies if they left the square during the 18-day uprising that toppled former President Mubarak.
Shafiq claimed there are invisible forces seeking to destroy Egypt's security and stability. “They make Egypt lose US$2 billion every month from its foreign reserves, which once stood at US$36 billion,” he said. “In six months, we won’t find bread to eat,” he added. “No revolution stays for a whole year."
Shafiq denied involvement in the “Battle of the Camel,” during which thugs beat demonstrators in Tahrir Square on 2 February 2011.
“I am tougher than you can imagine, and I have cleanly served my country for over 50 years,” he said. “He who has evidence that I was involved should come forward with it.”
He also said that he had collected the 30,000 signatures needed for his candidacy a long time ago.
Mubarak appointed Shafiq as prime minister after the outbreak of the 25 January revolution last winter. Shafiq remained in office for three weeks after the overthrow of Mubarak. Protesters in Tahrir Square demanded the removal of all senior figures in the Mubarak regime, including Shafiq, and he was sacked by Egypt's de facto military rulers in a cabinet reshuffle.
He was the commander of the air force before Mubarak appointed him as minister of civil aviation from 2002 until 29 January 2011.
Last month, Shafiq hinted that he has obtained the support of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the SCAF, to run for president. The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper website quoted Shafiq as saying he discussed the matter with Tantawi in an informal way, as they are friends.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
