Thursday, Jan 31, 2013


   (From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 1/31/13) 
   By William Boston in Berlin and Matt Bradley in Cairo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in to the crisis engulfing Egypt, urging President Mohammed Morsi to reach out to political opponents, but the Egyptian leader rejected opposition calls to create a unity government before elections.

Opposition leaders, meanwhile, repeated their preconditions on Wednesday to talk with the president, while two ideologically opposed parties signaled they would consider working together to outmaneuver Mr. Morsi and the politically dominant Muslim Brotherhood.

In the midst of the worst outbreak of violence in Egypt since the Arab Spring uprising, Mr. Morsi paid a shortened, but politically important, visit to Berlin on a mission to reassure Europe that he and his Islamist government would remain on the path toward democracy. Germany warned ahead of the visit any future aid to Egypt depends on democratic progress.

Germany is one of Egypt's biggest trading partners, and a political and economic powerhouse in Europe. Ms. Merkel's support for Mr. Morsi's government will be crucial to convince the European Union and international organizations to provide assistance to Cairo.

Ms. Merkel said she told Mr. Morsi it was "important for us that. . .the different political forces can make their contribution, that human rights are adhered to in Egypt and that, of course, religious freedom is enjoyed."

Germany and Egypt shared a bilateral trade volume of about 4.1 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in 2012, according to Germany's economy ministry.

Mr. Morsi brought a large delegation of Egyptian business leaders to meet with Germany's business community and industry lobbyists at the founding session of a new joint economic committee.

The Egyptian leader had planned a two-day visit to the German capital, but cut his stay short because of unrest in several Egyptian cities over the past week. The recent violence began with public anger over Mr. Morsi's governance and after death sentences handed to 21 people implicated in a soccer melee sparked massive protests.

On Wednesday, two protesters were killed in clashes with police in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square, the latest of more than 60 killed in the past six days. Egypt's defense minister on Tuesday warned of the possible "collapse of the state," in what was widely seen as a threat to the country's political factions that the military could take control of the country, as it did after the Arab Spring uprising.

In an apparent response to his defense minister's warning, Mr. Morsi insisted Wednesday that Egypt would be ruled by civilian law and not by generals. He said Egypt would be a democratic society with political pluralism, but rejected calls by the opposition for a national unity government.

"A new government will be built when the new Parliament has been elected," he said, adding that this would be a "matter of months."

Despite the Cairo clashes, violence appeared to subside on Wednesday, as opposing political groups grappled with the next steps. Mohamed ElBaradei, a leader of the opposition National Salvation Front, reversed months of defiance and called for a meeting with the president and other political parties "to take prompt actions to halt violence and start a serious discussion," in a Twitter post.

But Front officials said Mr. ElBaradei's call for reconciliation didn't represent the group. The Front, they said, wouldn't meet with Mr. Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood backers unless they agree to include opposition leaders in a "salvation government," form an inclusive committee to amend the Islamist constitution, and dismiss the Morsi-appointed general prosecutor.

The secular-leaning Front's demands were echoed on Wednesday by the Nour Party, the largest political group representing hard-line Salafi Islamists. The Nour Party has typically supported the Muslim Brotherhood and Mr. Morsi, but has grown more critical of the presidency since the latest round of violence began on Friday.

Leaders of the ideologically opposed Front and Nour Party met on Wednesday, raising the possibility of a partnership capable of outflanking and isolating the Muslim Brotherhood.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

31-01-13 0359GMT