Ikhwan rejects intellectuals' iniative to resolve Egypt crisis

CAIRO

A senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Gamal Heshmat has rejected an initiative tabled by two prominent intellectuals to resolve Egypt's political crisis.

"This initiative is rejected," Heshmat, a member of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, told Anadolu Agency.

"The coup leaders are keen on shedding blood in order to avoid prosecution and will not listen to any initiative to restore legitimacy," he added.

Two prominent Egyptian intellectuals tabled on Friday an initiative to restore social peace and end bloodshed based on the immediate departure of army chief and Defense Minister Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with ousted President Mohamed Morsi delegating his authorities to a new prime minister.

The initiative, floated by Seif Abdel-Fattah, a professor of political science, and Emad el-Din Shahin, professor of public policy at the American University in Cairo, calls for the immediate removal and prosecution of al-Sisi and Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim.

It calls for bringing to justice all officials involved in the recent killings Morsi's supporters, mainly during the bloody dispersal of the main sit-in camps in Rabaa al-Adawiya in Cairo and Nahda Square in Giza.

The incumbent army-backed government of Hazem al-Beblawi must go because of "its responsibility for the atrocities that have been committed against civilians," read the initiative, a copy of which was obtained by the Anadolu Agency.

"Allow access to President Mohamed Morsi to secure his delegation of power to a consensual prime Minister," it said, adding that the new premier should call immediate presidential and parliamentary polls.

The two intellectuals said the army should choose a military figure to negotiate with a committee of high-profile national figures, including former vice president Mohamed ElBaradei, Islamic thinker and former presidential contender Mohamed Selim al-Awa and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi.

The initiative also calls for an accurate account of all those killed and injured and establishing the causes of their deaths and injuries.

It urged authorities to free all political detainees held since June 30 and guarantee the right to peaceful protesting.

The initiative demanded an honorable burial to the dead to relieve the pain of their beleaguered families and defuse any desire for revenge.