By Ali Said
CAIRO, Nov 25 (Aswat Masriya) Mahmoud Badr, the founder of Tamarod and a member of the 50-member assembly amending Egypt's constitution, believes that anti-army activists have unrealistic expectations.
Egypt's army ousted President Mohamed Mursi in July in response to mass demonstrations organized by Tamarod. Since then, Egypt has been divided into three groups of army supporters, Mursi supporters and others who are neither loyal to the army nor the Islamist agenda.
In an interview with Aswat Masriya, Badr described those who are protesting against the military as idealists, insisting that they must come back down to earth and learn from past mistakes.
He accused the elite intellectuals as being out of touch with the people's real issues and asked the younger generation to talk to the people to get a grasp of their suffering.
He accused anti-army protests of giving a political cover to terrorism, referring to the tens of political activists who gathered in Mohandseen in July to denounce both the Muslim Brotherhood and the army.
Even though Badr believes in the military as an institution, he demanded that former army leaders be put on trial, insisting that social justice and holding people responsible for their actions is very important for national reconciliation.
He expressed disappointment in Mohamed ElBaradei for quitting his post as presidential advisor in the interim government over the dispersal of pro-Mursi sit-ins where at least 1,000 people were killed in August.
"I sent him a message, telling him, 'You are stepping down from a national and historic responsibility and you're putting your image in front of your international colleagues above the interest of the Egyptian people,' and he replied in a sweet message, saying, 'One day, Mahmoud, you will know, that humanity called for my action.'"
He insisted that Egypt is now on the right path to fulfill the goals of the January 25 uprising which, according to him, are the same goals of the June 30 uprising.
Reaffirming that Tamarod plans to turn itself into a political party to run for parliamentary elections, Badr added that if Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi were to run for president, he would fully support him.
The activist denied that the movement had any communication with the army or intelligence before Mursi's ouster. "We are bigger than to respond to these accusations," he said, asking those with accusations to come forward and file legal complaints to the general prosecutor.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the current government and called for a reshuffle upon the constitutional referendum which is set for the second half of January.