Veteran Egyptian journalist, Mohammad Hassanein Heikal, stressed in a televised interview that “the problem with Egypt’s president is that he does not realize he took office to cease riots and end sedition in the country.
“Morsi should know why he has become president, and not care when he came and how much power he has”, al-Alam News Channel quoted Heikal as saying.
“The current crisis in Egypt has roots in that the president and the Muslim Brotherhood are unaware of the severity of problems in the country. Unfortunately, no one knows the problems or ways to save Egypt”, Heikal said in the TV interview.
“The problem of the ruling regime is that all strata of people including scholars, the army, the middle class, and oppositions seek to overthrow the regime. Regarding the conflicts between the religious and secular sides, Egypt suffers from faction and a great chasm”, he added,
noting that some groups oppose dialogues and consider themselves legal, and some other expect the other side to accept their standpoints.
Heikal went on to say that “some senior staff in the UN have proposed resorting to an international mediator in order to resolve conflicts between the two parties”.
Concerning the Port Said crisis, the Egyptian journalist pointed out that “Dr. Mohammad Morsi’s problem is that he deems presidency as power. He has forgotten that presidency and leadership of a country is a credit rather than power”.
He further said that “when armed forces went to Port Said, they were able to calm the situation because people trusted the army. Inhabitants in Suez Canal border towns are definitely not rebels. Rather, they are looking for a trustworthy person to handle the situation. Thus, the situation was calmed as the army, which has gained people’s trust, appeared on the ground”.
“I became really worried when I heard that the army was given the permission to stop the protesters. The news was also confirmed in the Attorney General’s statement and it is in fact a civil war. Following the decision, ‘war commanders’ will emerge in Egypt as they did during the civil war in Lebanon. If militia groups are formed, confronting them will be very difficult in the future”, Heikal added.
“Egypt’s president, Mohammad Morsi’s legitimacy is declining and this is more fatal than collapse and fall of his regime”, he said.