Clashes across Egypt have put the legitimacy of the Morsi government in question. @sharifkouddous reports: http://tnat.in/heWw3
This outbreak of rage has laid bare the precarious state of a country plagued by a disfigured transition process, a lingering sense of injustice and the repeated failures of an entire political class that has forsaken a host of popular grievances in its scuffle for power.
Much of the vitriol has been directed toward Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. Using a highly contentious decree that granted him near-dictatorial powers, Morsi forced a controversial constitution through a referendum process last month. The move sparked mass protests and deadly clashes and left a deep national rift in its wake. It also bolstered fears of the "Brotherhood-ization" of the state, namely that the group was asserting control over the regime left behind by Hosni Mubarak rather than reforming state institutions.
In the weeks since, the economy has edged closer to the precipice with the Egyptian pound plummeting to record lows against the US dollar causing a rise in the price of staple goods like sugar, rice and cooking oil and exacerbating the economic burdens of the poor.
In this charged environment, it didn't take long for the protests on January 25 commemorating the revolution to turn violent; clashes between demonstrators and security forces erupted in cities across the country as protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails and police fired tear gas, birdshot and live ammunition, leaving at least eleven dead.
- ORLY? RT
@thenation Clashes across Egypt have put the legitimacy of the Morsi government in question. @thenation@sharifkouddous Heard Brit Lady in Tourist Bus in Luxor on NPR say business is dead, but there is no Turmoil Every thing is Civil
