Brotherhood ‘must accept govt before dialogue’

CAIRO: An Egyptian minister on Sunday ruled out accepting an offer for dialogue until the Muslim Brotherhood recognizes the government’s transition plan and renounces violence.
Social Solidarity Minister Ahmed Al-Borei told AFP the Brotherhood must also accept President Muhammad Mursi’s overthrow was a “revolution.”
A Brotherhood-led coalition had proposed on Saturday its most flexible plan yet for reconciliation talks, but later said the initiative was aimed at other parties and not the military-installed government.
The latest statements indicate that both sides remain deeply divided since Mursi’s ouster by the military on July 3 and that hopes for a reconciliation in the near future are slim.
“There must be a recognition that June 30 was a popular revolution, and the (government’s) roadmap was agreed on by the Egyptian people to build a modern state,” Borei said.
He added that the Brotherhood should accept that its members on trial on murder and “terrorism” charges “are excluded from the idea of reconciliation.”
The Muslim Brotherhood “has to apologize and stop violence on the street,” Borei added. Presidential media adviser Ahmed Al-Muslimani said he had no response to the Brotherhood initiative because it was not directed at the authorities.