June 30 revolution corrects January 25 path (Part I)

CAIRO – 29 June 2017: “Egypt was transformed from a homeland for a group to the homeland of the people,” President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said in a televised speech
commemorating the sixth anniversary of the January 25 Revolution in January 2017.

He added that the “June 30 revolution came to correct the path” of January 25, allowing the people to “regain their destiny and freedom.”

The factors instrumental to the January 25 revolution were the failures of the socio-economic system, organized corruption, and rampant greed which embedded economic retardation and deepened reasons for poverty. It caused tens of millions of Egyptians to join the youth vanguards of the revolution.

Bread, freedom, and social justice were the main demands of the 25 January revolution. However, the three demands were not met by the first elected administration of the Muslim Brotherhood group, which is currently outlawed in Egypt and other Arab countries.

On June 24, 2012, Mohamed Morsi won the runoff by the slimmest of margins to become Egypt’s first elected president. Upon inauguration on June 30, former President Mohamed Morsi pledged, as elected president and “leader of the revolution,” to, “complete the revolutionary course,” and to reclaim presidential powers from the military council that has ruled since Mubarak’s overthrow, according to his speech following his presidential election winning.

Morsi forced the resignation of Egypt’s army chiefs in August. It appeared to be a crippling blow to the military’s long-standing political clout. General Sisi, the director of military intelligence, was sworn in as the new army chief.
Morsi issued a highly controversial declaration in November, immunizing his decrees from judicial challenge. The authoritarian move outraged the judiciary and further stoked public anger.

Public anger quickly increased and the Brotherhood dug their own graves by oppression and rejection of mediation deals offered by General Sisi in efforts to calm the public anger. They also set Brotherhood regional offices on fire throughout the Nile Delta provinces.

On the first anniversary of Morsi’s inauguration on June 30, 2013, millions took to Egypt’s streets demanding early elections. On July 1, General Sisi was quick to react, issuing a 48-hour ultimatum for all parties to arrive at an agreement. The following day, Morsi delivered an evening speech where he declared his rejection of the declaration, and claimed himself as the elected president representing the will of the people. Morsi, clung to his alleged “legitimacy” as elected leader, offered no compromise. The same day, another statement was released on the official Facebook page of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces titled "The Final Hours" that read: "We swear by God that we are ready to sacrifice our blood for Egypt and its people against any terrorist, extremist or fool."

13,230,131 (51.7 percent of the eligible electorate) Egyptians voted for Morsi in the runoff round. They believed the Brotherhood-loyal President would put the Egyptian interests above his groups.

Morsi was the substitute candidate selected by the Brotherhood after the disqualification of Khairat al-Shater. He brought the killers of late President Anwar Sadat to Cairo Stadium declaring ‘Jihad’ in Syria against Bashar al-Assad regime. Former first lady Gehan Sadat was shocked when she saw her husband’s murderers honored and respected by the Egyptian administration at that time, she said in a televised interview in October 2012.

On July 3 , General Abdel Fatah el-Sisi, announced in a live televised address that Mohamed Morsi had been deposed and replaced by the head of the Constitutional Court Adly Mansour, and that the constitution had been suspended.

Morsi was immediately detained and kept under house arrest at the Republican Guard headquarters in Cairo. Several other government officials and Islamist figures supporting Morsi were also arrested. The move was widely deemed as a "Revolution" and it marked a turning point for the country's future and for the fate of the Muslim Brotherhood. The event labeled them a terrorist group later that year in response to a bombing in Mansoura.

Brotherhood leader Mohamed Beltagi threatened the Egyptian state and its people, and vowed to continue supporting terrorist groups in Sinai if Morsi was not reinstalled as the ‘legitimate president’ of Egypt, according to a video circulated on the internet.

Sisi was elected by 23,780,104 (96.9 percent) voters in 2014 elections. He promised to confront ‘black terrorism’ of the Brotherhood.

According to Cairo Criminal Court, Morsi faces charges of spying for Qatar. Currently, Egypt and other Arab nations severed ties with Qatar on charges of supporting terrorism and backing extremism in the region.

As a new president, he faced many challenges on the domestic and foreign fronts. These challenges will be tackled in the following article.