Egypt Opposition Says Morsi Concession Not Enough

Egypt Opposition Says Morsi Concession Not Enough

CAIRO — Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has revoked part of a controversial decree giving himself sweeping powers but he insists a referendum on a new constitution will go ahead as planned on December 15.  Opposition leaders call the move cosmetic and say they want the referendum postponed.

Egyptian Air Force jets overflew the center of Cairo at low altitude Sunday as the political crisis continued.  Opposition leaders repeated calls for popular protests, despite a concession by President Mohamed Morsi.  He withdrew part of a constitutional decree putting his actions above judicial oversight.

The decision was announced late Saturday by Mohamed Salim al Awa, an Islamist member of a dialogue committee that met with the president.

He says the first clause of the constitutional declaration of November 21, which gave the president broad powers, has been annulled as of Saturday, but its consequences remain in effect.

The opposition National Salvation front met behind closed doors Sunday to discuss what new measures to take, including a possible general strike.  Mohamed ElBaradei, who heads the group, insisted the draft constitution “thwarts our rights and freedom,” and “will be toppled today, before tomorrow."

Opposition calls for more protest marches to the presidential palace did not appear to have spurred a major outpouring of demonstrators Sunday.  A crowd of a few hundred anti-Morsi protesters were clustered in Tahrir Square and near the presidential palace.

By late afternoon, Egypt's Republican Guard appeared to block protesters from approaching the palace and to prevent those already near it from leaving.  Prime Minister Hisham Qandil urged protesters across the capital to end their sit-ins.

Analyst Omar Ashour, who teaches political science at Britain's University of Exeter, says the move by Morsi to hold the referendum puts the draft constitution in the hands of the people.

"It was a very clever way to put it back to the people again, to signal that the opposition does not represent all Egyptians and the presidency does not represent all Egyptians," he said.  "Whoever opposes [the referendum] will be un-democratic, will be the one who does not want to play [by] the rules of democracy and just wants to impose his will on the Egyptian people."

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party began its push for a "yes" vote in next Saturday's referendum, posting an audio version of the new draft constitution on its website.

But Egypt's judiciary, which is needed to supervise polling, appears to remain hostile to the referendum.  Al-Arabiya TV reported only 300 judges, out of 4,000, have agreed to participate in the process.