Kandil proposes plan to ease tensions in Egypt

Hesham Kandil, prime minister under ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, proposed on Thursday a plan to ease the escalating tensions in the country, which is highly polarized by divisions between the Islamist leader's supporters and opponents. The first of the three-stage plan proposes releasing all political detainees arrested after June 30, when Morsi's overthrow took place, and suspend a decision to freeze the Islamists' funds. The plan also calls for setting up an independent fact finding committee on the killings of over 50 people outside of the Republican Guard Club, and allowing a delegation to visit the toppled leader to learn about his health condition. Qandil also urged placating the media attack campaigns from both sides, Islamists and liberals. On Wednesday, Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, called for mass rallies on Friday to authorize the army and the interior ministry to combat terrorism and violence, while the Muslim Brotherhood urged a million-man march on the same day in support of Morsi, describing Sisi's call as a declaration of civil war. Commenting on anticipated confrontation on Friday, Kandil advised protesters not to go on marches but stay at fixed locations for demonstrations. As for the second stage, the former prime minister stressed that preserving supreme interests of the country and the legitimacy of its people, and preventing the state institutions from collapsing by pursuing a democratic path, are the general principles that should be agreed upon. After pacifying the anger, ensuring Morsi's health and approving the general principles, "we could start the third stage of the initiative, which is Sisi's roadmap," said Kandil. On July 3, the armed forces ousted Morsi in response to millions of protesters' demand and announced a roadmap for a transitional period. However, the opening session of a national reconciliation dialogue on Wednesday, called upon by the interim president Adli Mansour, was attended mostly by liberal and leftist parties and boycotted by Islamists.