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“The National Salvation Front is not taking part in the dialogue, that
is the official stance,” Ahmed Said, a member of the coalition and head of
the liberal Free Egyptians Party, told Reuters.
Several other prominent opposition figures, including Mohamed
ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency,
said they would not participate.
In a message on Twitter, Mr. ElBaradei said the president’s offer
“lacks the basics of real dialogue.”
“We are for dialogue that is not based on arm-twisting and imposing
a fait accompli,” he said.
The sight of protesters on Cairo’s streets has been common since the
beginnings of Egypt’s transition toward democracy that began with the
ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak last year.
In the latest protests, the target of the demonstrations has been the
presidential palace in the wealthy suburb of Heliopolis, where protesters
converged on Friday.
Since clashes there earlier this week, the elite presidential guard has
ringed the palace with barbed wire, tanks and armored vehicles. After Mr.
Morsi’s speech on Thursday, his opponents mocked his words and called
for new demonstrations on Friday.
Some observers said the president speech echoed his predecessor, Mr.
Mubarak, who always saw “hidden hands” behind public unrest. Mr.
Morsi said that corrupt beneficiaries of Mr. Mubarak’s autocracy had been
“hiring thugs and giving out firearms, and the time has come for them to
be punished and penalized by the law.” He added, “It is my duty to defend
the homeland.”
Mr. Morsi received a phone call on Thursday from President Obama,
who expressed his “deep concern” about the deaths and injuries, the White
House said in a statement.
“The president emphasized that all political leaders in Egypt should
make clear to their supporters that violence is unacceptable,” the statement
said, chastising Mr. Morsi and the opposition leaders as failing to urge
their supporters to pull back during the fight.