Egypt to go bankrupt over endless riots

The unrest in Egypt continues. Hundreds of people are marching in the streets, disgruntled by the adopted declaration that gives President Mohammed Mursi virtually unlimited powers. Mass protests in the country have led to a sharp drop in the country's financial market. Analysts predict that if this trend continues, in three months Egypt will become bankrupt.

Hisham Tawfik, an executive board member of the Egyptian stock exchange said that one of the most popular resorts of the world was on the verge of bankruptcy. According to him, the country's stock market has plummeted. Only in the last few days the main EGX-30 index dropped by 3.9 percent, raising serious concerns among analysts.

As noted by Himasha Taufik, the situation on the stock market of Egypt is rather dangerous. If a downward trend continues, three months later the country will face complete bankruptcy. According to Reuters, on the night from 24 to 25 November the main index fell by 10 percent, which is disastrous for the entire economy.

As reported by Los Angeles Times, the reason for this decline in the financial market of Egypt was the new constitutional declaration giving the incumbent president Mohammed Mursi special legislative powers that cannot be challenged even by the court. The new law has caused thousands of demonstrations and riots across the country. According to Los Angeles Times, public demonstrations were suppressed by the police who used tear gas and batons.

Clashes of the opponents and supporters of the Egyptian President continued for more than a day. So far, the authorities of the country did not report whether there were any victims during the suppression of demonstrations and clashes between the representatives of the opposing sides. However, the international agency Reuters reported that they had information about one person killed - a fifteen-year-old teenager. So far, the cause of death is unknown, but unofficial sources say that the teenager was killed by a blow on the head with a heavy object. In a clash near the office of the "Muslim Brotherhood" another 60 people were injured.

The reaction of the opposition of the country to the adoption of the new Declaration is very negative. Mursi's opponents called him "the new Pharaoh", claiming that he "betrayed the revolution."

At this time the unrest in the country continues and is even encouraged by the opposition. As reported by Reuters, last Saturday, the global community obtained information about the creation of the National Salvation Front, the rebel organization founded by the opponents of President Muhammad Mursi.

Most judiciary bodies also largely protest against the president's new law that prohibits challenging his decisions even through court. According to Fox News, many judges of major cities such as Cairo and Alexandria are also taking part in mass strikes and rallies. On Monday, many of them refused to go to work. The judges also challenged the president's decision to dismiss the state Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, Reuters reported. Not that long ago, Mursi dismissed the Attorney General in an attempt to quell the unrest, but Mahmud did not obey the order of the president, and continued to hold the post. According to him, he does not intend to obey the order of the President and is ready to work.

Social movement "Muslim Brotherhood" that supports the president and his decision, urges people to come out to rallies. According to ITAR-TASS, the new organization National Salvation Front representing the interests of the opposition, also calls on citizens to join mass rallies in support of the opposing side. The National Salvation Front will coordinate all of the opposition and will develop plans for further struggle.

Participants in the new organization include influential people. In particular, one of the leaders of the "Egyptian Congress," two former candidates for president of the state - Amr Moussa and Hamdin Sabbah, and Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director of the IAEA, and now a leader of the Constitution Party. Abdel Moneim Abul-Futuh, a former leader of an opposition party, is also among the participants in the movement. He took part in the elections held in the summer, but could not get into the second round, and his nomination was withdrawn. After the defeat, he formally declared support for Mohammed Mursi, urging his followers to "be against corruption and oppression." But now Futuh has radically changed his opinion and speaks against President Murcia.

The new organization declared full non-cooperation and unwillingness to conduct any negotiations with the president until he withdraws the adopted declaration giving him exclusive rights.

Rallies are held almost on the entire territory of the country, and they are initiated by both the opposition and those who support Mursi. As noted by Mohamed ElBaradei, he was seriously concerned about the unrest in the country, as this can cause interference with the military. According to him, the armed forces may intervene to restore law and order, but it will be the last resort, as this would lead to significantly more victims. However, according to ElBaradei, there can be no dialogue with Mursi until he withdraws the declaration. 

President in his speeches has repeatedly stressed that the adoption of this law was a temporary measure that was not meant for the concentration of all power in the hands of one person, but for salvation of the democratic system of the country, as well as the impartiality of the judiciary system. According to the press service of Mursi, the published document confirms this statement. The new document emphasizes that the adopted declaration will help the Egyptian people to save the democratic system in the country. In addition, the document states that the president will make every effort to achieve consensus on the Constitution with all interested parties. However, according to foreign sources, the paper was published only in English, and circulated only among foreign journalists.

As announced by the President of Egypt, he intended to meet with representatives of the Council of Judges. According to the Chairman of the Court of Cassation Muhammad Mumtaz Mitwali, the supreme council will seek the abolition of the adopted statement as prejudicing the rights of judges and the independence of the judiciary system. However, on November 26 the long-awaited negotiations have not yielded any results and both sides were sticking to their opinion. In response to the opposition's demands to withdraw the declaration, the President of Egypt said that the decision was final and not appealable.

According to the representatives of the Supreme Council of Judges, the meeting, that many had high hopes for, has failed, as none of the parties accepted the arguments of the other. However, as noted by the Speaker of the presidential office, Yasser Ali, judges should not worry because the declaration applies only to cases involving questions of state sovereignty. This statement did not satisfy the opposition members, and now the National Salvation Front again calls on all concerned citizens to take to the streets and take part in the mass demonstrations supporting the opposition. Incidentally, the president in his speech asked his supporters not to participate in demonstrations "in order to avoid bloodshed."

So far the situation in the country is getting worse, said Hassan Nafa, a professor of political science at Cairo University. According to him, the requirements of both parties are too "vague", and none of the participants can agree with the arguments of the other side. Such destabilization will not add popularity to the incumbent President, but it is difficult to judge how long his power will hold in this situation.

In any case, mass strikes and rallies continue in the country. Ignoring their leader, the president's supporters are going to continue to take to the streets, supporting his decision. However, representatives of the opposing camp are not going to sit at home either and would try to reverse the declaration.

Sergei Vasilenkov

Pravda.Ru 

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