Morsi supporters prepare for confrontation with Egyptian authorities

US Secretary of State John Kerry says military was "restoring democracy" when it ousted former president Morsi.

By REUTERS
Pro-Morsi protesters 370 (photo credit: Reuters)
Pro-Morsi protesters 370
(photo credit: Reuters)
CAIRO - Supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi prepared for confrontation on Friday, and the United States said Egypt's military had been "restoring democracy" when it drove him from office.
Thousands were gathered in two Muslim Brotherhood camps in Cairo, defying warnings from the new army-backed government to abandon their protest or face action from security forces.
At the main Rabaa al-Adawiya camp on Friday morning, young men wearing crash helmets and brandishing sticks mounted a first line of defense behind barricades of sandbags and bricks.
International diplomats, rights groups and Egyptian religious leaders appealed to authorities to avoid bloodshed.
Political sources said there had been intense debate within the cabinet on the wisdom of the security forces taking action.
Almost 300 people have died in political violence since Morsi was overthrown on July 3, including 80 of his supporters shot dead by security forces in a single incident last Saturday.
Morsi, an Islamist who became Egypt's first freely-elected president in June 2011, had faced weeks of street demonstrations against his rule. Many Egyptians were frustrated by his failure to get to grips with social and economic problems and feared he was leading the country towards stricter Islamist control.
He is now being held by the military at a secret location.
The turmoil has left Egypt more polarized than at any time since US-backed autocrat Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011.
The new civilian government installed by the military received a boost on Thursday from the United States, which had previously given mixed messages about events in a country that has long been a bulwark of Washington's Middle East policy.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Pakistan Egypt's army had been "restoring democracy" when it toppled Morsi.
"The military was asked to intervene by millions and millions of people, all of whom were afraid of a descendance into chaos, into violence," he told Pakistan's GEO TV.
"And the military did not take over, to the best of our judgment so - so far."
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood criticized Kerry for saying the military had been "restoring democracy" when it toppled Morsi.
"We totally reject these statements and we are very disappointed in them," said Mohamed Ali Bishr, a senior brotherhood leader and a minister in Morsi's former government.
"The United States is a country that speaks of democracy and human rights and they say something like that. I hope that they rethink their position and correct it," he told Reuters
The United States has avoided calling Morsi's overthrow a "coup" - a move that would have triggered a cut-off in the $1.3 billion of U.S. aid the Egyptian military receives each year.
Kerry has however called on Egypt to respect the right of peaceful protest, including the pro-Morsi rallies.
"AVOID A BLOODBATH"
European Union envoy Bernardino Leon, who is in Cairo trying to defuse tensions, said on Thursday the EU would not easily accept the use of violence to break up the protest camp.
Efforts should be made to reach a political solution by involving moderates on both sides, he said.
Human Rights Watch said the government should halt any plans to disperse the Muslim Brotherhood camp by force.
"To avoid another bloodbath, Egypt's civilian rulers need to ensure the ongoing right of protesters to assemble peacefully, and seek alternatives to a forcible dispersal of the crowds," said Nadim Houry, HRW's deputy Middle East director.
It criticized security forces for using excessive force.
Senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam El-Erian on Friday reiterated the Islamists' position that it would not deal with the new rulers in trying to find a solution.
"What is needed to convince people that democratic institutions are being built is to cancel the bloody, fascist military coup and to eject these fascists ... and to convince the people that they can decide their fate and choose their leaders," he said on his social media page.