Egypt Declares National Emergency

[naomi24]

Appalling scenes on tonight's news. Among the huge numbers of dead, a Sky TV cameraman. Poor Egypt. What is its future?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23700663

[wolf63]

My boss if off to Egypt on holiday on Friday.

[ummmm]

Such a waste of life.

[pusskin]

Very sad, all this fighting and deaths for what?

[naomi24]

For what? indeed. Where the blight on this planet that is fundamentalist Islam rears its ugly head, utter madness ensues:

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201308142224-0022979

[DJHawkes]

just spoke to my son, his travel agent has advised that home office advice for tourists in Hurghada at the moment is to remain within their complex as there is a curfew in the city. they cannot advise on future travel yet.

[sandyRoe]

We're seeing a return to military rule.

[yogi-bear]

Appalling scenes and what a waste of life indeed......supposed to be at Pacha in Sharm El Sheikh later this month for a gig...will go with what's being advised, if it gets any worse...Its some 200-250 miles, i think, from Cairo where the trouble is, so probably ok and I hate to cancel if possible.

[ichkeria]

Return to military dictatorship indeed. So much for letting the people have their say

[naomi24]

Sharm is a long way from Cairo - in more ways than one.

[naomi24]

ichkeria, the people had their say - but they didn't get what they were expecting when Morsi granted himself unlimited powers - hence the objections.

[Peter Pedant]

The future Nay is more civil unrest

and no tourists, starvation and the Egyptian pound not the strongers in the first place going into free fall.

Poor Egyptians they deserve something better

[ludwig]

If the elected government had looked like it intended to serve the people of Egypt - ie all of them - , this might not have happened. As it is, it looks like they've just got lumbered with a different dictatorship.

[Brenden]

The muslim brotherhood will not go down without an all out war, the present scenario is what a few of us feared when Morsi became president, but it is not only Egypt it is across the arab states - Global islamic rule is their end game at any cost. I feel so sorry for the ordinary Egyptian who thought their fight for democracy (and it was a hard one) would benefit all the country.

[janbee]

If Morsi had been prepared to be President for ALL the country, for ALL the people, then this would never have happened. All very sad and such a huge waste of life. This is only the start. Very very sad indeed.

[naomi24]

I listened to a spokesman for the Brotherhood last night, whose 17 year old daughter was among the dead yesterday. He basically said she’s a martyr to the cause – so that’s alright then. Where the brotherhood is concerned, life is cheap, death in the name of Allah is an honour, and individual freedom is not a consideration. A backward and chilling philosophy.

[emmie]

it has one, a future, but not without much hurt and pain. They need to get around the negotiating table before long..

[emmie]

the people did have their say, but they were not getting remotely what was promised, if anything Morsi was imposing ever more strict rules and laws, why would anyone be surprised by that fact. The Muslim Brotherhood is not a benign charitable organisation, it never was, they have an agenda which if left unchecked would likely have seen women donning the burkha, veil where many had not before, and men being dictated to over their life style, dress and indeed anyone not of the Islamic faith would be not just unwelcome but actively suppressed.

[anotheoldgit]

janbee

/// If Morsi had been prepared to be President for ALL the country, for ALL the people, then this would never have happened. ///

How could that ever happen, we have the same problems in our Western democracies, the majority party may win the election but that doesn't mean everyone is happy about it, the difference being though we don't resort to violence.

I didn't like the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood won their election, but since that was the majority's choice, they should have been allowed to rule until such times another election took place.

[anotheoldgit]

emmie

/// the people did have their say, but they were not getting remotely what was promised, ///

And do we ever?

[FredPuli43]

Good point, AOG. The economy doesn't change overnight, whatever the impression the voters have of what will happen if they elect a new government. And the new one may be worse than they expected, in other ways. But mature democracies like ours are adjusted to such disappointments, and the voters are more cynical about apparent promises. Egypt has had no such experience before.