Egypt has been through a ‘transitional period’ for the last couple of years. With turmoil, elections, new governments and a love hate relationship with the army, The Commander & Chief of the Armed Forces has recently addressed the people of Egypt. Please note this is before the current president Morsi himself has actually come to the podium himself to discuss yesterday’s mass protests that Egypt shocked the world with.
Al Sisi had one message short and clear, do not undermine your people, the Egyptian population is not one to mess with and with peaceful protests they have made one request. He urges Morsi to take advantage of the 48hr time limit given by the people and that if nothing is reached that the army will then step in.
Here is a translated version of Al Sisi’s speech as well as the original.
Egypt stood in protest yesterday situating itself and showing the world how their demonstrations and a departure for the great people of Egypt to express their opinions peacefully and civilized is unprecedented.
Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi: It would be wrong for anyone to believe that under any circumstances, the army’s firm bond of conscience with the great Egyptian people could be undermined.
“Applause from military audience”
The only thing we respect and abide by is the will of the Egyptian people. We do so with the purest, objective, and genuine intentions. It would be wrong for anyone to think that this will could be confronted with violence. We bear complete responsibility for protecting the will of this great people. Let me ask you: How can we, the officers of the military, feel like real men, when we sense that the entire Egyptian people lives in fear and terror? We would rather die.
Harming the army is tantamount to harming the Egyptian people in its entirety. It would be wrong for anyone to believe that we will remain silent in the face of any affront. We must all understand how dangerous this is for Egypt’s national security. Let me repeat this: It would be wrong for anyone to believe that we will remain silent in the face of any affront to the army or its commanders. I hope we all understand how dangerous this is to Egypt’s national security.
In the past months, the military has refrained from intervening in public political affairs. It is clear that things are going the way they are going right now. But I’d like to say that we all bear moral patriotic, and historical responsibility. We also bear a higher responsibility towards our Lord, and we will be held accountable for our deeds now and in the future. We will not allow Egypt to enter a dark tunnel of conflict, internal fighting, civil war, sectarian strife, or the collapse of state institutions.
