Spokesman: Egypt's Nour Party backs controversial Morsi decree

Nour Party spokesman defends President Morsi's contentious decree, says ex-regime elements have mobilised to 'fabricate crises' The Salafist Nour Party on Wednesday expressed support for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's controversial constitutional declaration. "The president's decisions did not come out of the blue; it is clear to anyone following recent political events that there have been attempts to lead the country into a state of lawlessness," Nour Party spokesman Nader Bakkar stated. He pointed in particular to the dissolution this summer of Egypt's democratically elected parliament based on a ruling by Egypt's High Constitutional Court. The party spokesman asserted that the recent replacement of Prosecutor-General Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud – who, according to Bakkar, "had stood against the revolution" – with Judge Talaat Abdullah, "has given hope to the families of the revolution's martyrs, after everyone had accused the president of not doing enough to attain martyrs' rights." Bakkar went on to warn against opposition calls to dissolve the Constituent Assembly (tasked with drafting a new constitution) and Shura Council (the upper, consultative house of parliament) and for President Morsi to step down. "How can we allow a handful of individuals and political forces – which don't represent the people – to bring an end to all state institutions?" he asked. Bakkar also asserted that former members of Mubarak's now-dissolved National Democratic Party were recruiting people to "fabricate crises in return for large sums of money." He went on to stress that the Nour Party would support the elected president – who hails from Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood – in the coming phase, and would participate in all rallies in coordination with other Islamist forces for the sake of the nation. On Tuesday, more than a hundred thousand demonstrators protested against Morsi's constitutional declaration in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Morsi's divisive declaration prevents the judiciary from challenging his decisions. It also protects the Shura Council and Constituent Assembly from possible dissolution by court order. The declaration also called for the dismissal of Egypt's longstanding prosecutor-general, who Morsi had unsuccessfully attempted to remove in October. The president's declaration further ordered the retrial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and aides implicated in the killing of protesters during and after last year's popular uprising.