Prime Minister Hesham Qandil has described the violent incidents which have gripped Egypt recently as “absurd, unfortunate scenes”.
On Qandil’s official Facebook page, a small statement said that the prime minister had visited the locations of violent clashes on Friday near Tahrir Square and in front of the presidential palace.
Qandil was faced by “a group of boys, hooligans and outlaws who converge in the area at a time when no revolutionary or political forces were present”. Qandil stated that he decided to avoid any conflict between them and the authorities to preserve the safety of citizens in the streets and “not to give this deviant group the pretext to cause more harm”.
The statement said that this act gives “a clear image of the nature of the people who have been who occupying Tahrir Square since after the revolution” and that it is the responsibility of each honest citizen who participated in the revolution hoping to establish freedom and social justice to prevent those who “continue jumping on the revolution covered by various political forces.”
In another statement the Prime minister called for the political forces to condemn violence in all forms and to withdraw their protesters from the streets.
Qandil on recent violence: “Absurd, unfortunate scenes”
Egyptian media outlets were blamed by Qandil for calling those who used violence as “protesters” or “revolutionaries”.
“Protesters don’t burn presidential palaces,” he said. “They don’t attack hotels, rape women or rob stores.”
Responding to claims of Egyptian Police brutality, Qandil said: “We all regret what happened to the citizen who was dragged and beaten, but reducing the whole absurd scene to this specific incident is a defective move.”
Qandil also criticised political forces for constantly issuing calls for the removal of the government or the Shura Council instead of calls for reform. He also condemned the attempts to impose change through violence.
The prime minister admitted, however, that his government failed to incorporate the Egyptian youth, saying: “We should admit as a government, as should all the political forces and parties that we failed in appealing to the youth, and that is something we should all work on.”
Qandil said that while the Egyptian economy is bleeding as a cause of the current chaotic scene, it is still resistant.
“The current government and the previous ones are working hard to provide the necessities from petroleum products, water, electricity and foodstuffs to the citizens.”
Qandil called for all Egyptians to endure responsibility and unite. He also called on political forces to implement the change they desire through the upcoming parliamentary elections.