Shukr: Morsi is copying Mubarak’s regime

A leading figure in Egypt’s National Salvation Front has blamed the country’s ongoing unrest on “political stubbornness “and a “failure to respond to popular demands.” In a scathing interview with Arabstoday, Abdel Ghaffar Shukr, founder of the People’s Alliance Party, accused Mohammed Morsi’s government of copying his predecessor Hosni Mubarak’s “corrupt” regime. Mubarak was ousted from power in 2011 after a string of high-profile protests which kickstarted the Arab Spring revolution, toppling four regimes across the region. After his fall, democratic election resulted in the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power, led by President Mohammed Morsi. Since then, a new wave of protests have continued to shake the country, with many demonstrators and political parties calling for the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood, accusing them of the same regime as Mubarak. Shukr particularly condemned Morsi’s regime for its use of “scare tactics” such as using “a secret security force to hunt dissidents, imposing curfews and a state of emergency  as well as delaying help in times of crisis,”  all of which he says, were prevalent under Mubarak’s leadership. “I expect the current crisis to continue due to stubbornness and a failure to respond to popular demands as well as confronting protesters with violence which only serves to breed violence and increase the number of deaths,” said Shukr. He went on to urge the Egyptian authorities, especially the Interior Ministry, to “change the way it handles protesters”, saying that the violence would continue unless the regime admitted its mistakes and “unfilled promises”. Shukr also denied allegations that the National Salvation Front was responsible for recent bloody events, insisting that the movement has always condemned any violence and has repeatedly called for peaceful demonstrations. “The Salvation Front will continue to call for peaceful demonstrations and persist in standing up to the regime. We represent the Egyptian people’s aspirations,” concluded Shukr.