Egypt's ElBaradei demands Morsi rescinds "dictatorial" decree

Prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said on Saturday there could be no dialogue with Egypt's president until he rescinded a "dictatorial" decree that he said gave the Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi the powers of a pharaoh.   

"There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says 'let us split the difference'," ElBaradei said in an interview with Reuters and the Associated Press after talks with other opposition figures.   

"I am waiting to see, I hope soon, a very strong statement of condemnation by the U.S., by Europe and by everybody who really cares about human dignity," he said.

In this context, the body representing Egypt's judges called on Saturday for an immediate strike in all courts and prosecutors offices in protest against President Mohamed Morsi's decree expanding his powers.

On the opposite side, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called for a mass demonstration in Cairo on Tuesday to show support for President Mohamed Morsi, who is facing a storm of protest for issuing a decree that expanded his powers.   

In a statement published on its website, the Brotherhood also called for shows of support in public squares across Egypt after early evening prayers on Sunday to show support for Morsi's decisions.   

Parties opposed to the decree have also called for a protest on Tuesday in Cairo, though in a different square from the one where the Brotherhood called on its supporters to gather.

This as, Judges in the Egyptian city of Alexandria decided to go on strike on Saturday.

The judges' club in Alexandria said work would be suspended in all courts and prosecution offices until the decree was reversed, the agency reported. For its part, Egypt's highest judicial authority said a decree granting President Mohamed Morsi sweeping new powers marked an "unprecedented attack" on the independence of the judiciary, the state news agency reported.
   
At an emergency meeting called to discuss the decree issued by Morsi on Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Council urged "the president of the republic to distance this decree from everything that violates the judicial authority".

Earlier, anti-riot police fired tear gas on Saturday to disperse protesters camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square as Western governments voiced growing concern over Islamist President Mohammad Morsi's assumption of sweeping powers.          

A hard core of opposition activists had spent the night in the iconic protest hub erecting some 30 tents, an AFP correspondent reported.            

But when more demonstrators attempted to join them in the morning, police responded with volleys of tear gas forcing them to retreat into surrounding streets.                

The mainly secular liberal activists voiced determination to keep up the momentum of their protests against Morsi's decree on Thursday which placed his decisions beyond judicial scrutiny, vastly adding to his power.              

Clashes broke out between the rival supporters in several cities, AFP correspondents and state television reported.


REUTERS/LBCI