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August 15, 2012
CAIRO, Egypt (AWR) – The decision of President Muhammad Mursī to remove long-time Defense Minister Field Marshal Muhammad Husayn Tantāwī, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces and the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Samī ‘Anān as well as several other high-ranking SCAF officials has been met with an array of responses.
Former liberal Member of parliament (MP) 'Amr Hamzāwī, Professor of Political Science professor at Cairo University, voiced his support on Twitter: “Mursī's decisions are going in the right direction. They end the undemocratic situation of the military council” although he voiced his concern saying “The concentration of the executive and legislative powers in the hands of the president is unacceptable.” [Mu’taz Nādī, Hamzāwī: I call on the Liberals to support compromise... Mursī's decisions are going in the right direction, al-Misrī Al-Yawm, August 13, 2012]
Ahmad Zakī ‘Ābdīn, Minister of Local Development, highlighted that “the President’s decisions are in the public interest and are a result of an understanding between him and the military.” [Ahmad Hasan, The President’s decisions are in the public interest, al-Yawm Al-Sābi’, August 13, 2012]
On the other hand some observers regard the move as a consolidation of power by the President and the Muslim Brotherhood. A pro-Tantāwī protester expressed her fears saying "I refuse to live in a place like Iran. This is an attempt to remove the last of the honorable men who fought during the October [1973] war." [Nādyah Ahmad, Protesters gather in support of Tantawi, Egypt Independent, August 13, 2012]
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