Presidential candidate and Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah El Sisi speaking during a television interview broadcast on CBC and ONTV, in Cairo, May 6, 2014. Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper/Reuters
Presidential candidate and Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah El Sisi speaking during a television interview broadcast on CBC and ONTV, in Cairo, May 6, 2014. Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper/Reuters
Presidential candidate and Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah El Sisi speaking during a television interview broadcast on CBC and ONTV, in Cairo, May 6, 2014. Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper/Reuters
Presidential candidate and Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah El Sisi speaking during a television interview broadcast on CBC and ONTV, in Cairo, May 6, 2014. Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper/Reuters

Egypt’s El Sisi pledges to improve living conditions in two years


  • English
  • Arabic

CAIRO // Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Egypt’s former military chief who is poised to win the presidency in elections later this month, said he plans to improve people’s living conditions within two years but will step down if they rise up against him.

Mr El Sisi was speaking with the UAE-based Sky News Arabia, giving his first televised interview as a presidential candidate to foreign media.

The first part of the interview was aired on Sunday.

Riding on a wave of nationalist fervour, the 59-year-old Mr El Sisi faces a single rival in the two-day vote which starts on 26 May.

The media and supporters tout him as the nation’s saviour for ousting the elected Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, in July following massive rallies against him.

The protesters were complaining that a year into office Mr Morsi and his Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood were monopolising power. Mr Morsi refused to step down or hold a referendum on his leadership following an ultimatum from Mr El Sisi.

The military also moved in to replace longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011 after days of protests against him. Mubarak stepped down, and the military ruled for a transitional period before Morsi was elected as part of the Brotherhood’s steady, subsequent sweep at the ballot box.

“Do you think I will wait for a third time? If people go down to protest, I will say, I am at your service,” Mr El Sisi said. “I can’t wait until the army asks me to (step down), I can’t be like this. I fear for my country. I fear for the people.”

Mr El Sisi retired in March to run for office, but he was a career military officer and is unlikely to be at odds with the armed forces, which have provided all of Egypt’s presidents except for Mr Morsi since 1952. Mr El Sisi was head of military intelligence when the uprising against Mubarak erupted in 2011 and was promoted to defence minister by Mr Morsi.

This was Mr El Sisi's second televised interview. Last week, he gave his first interview to two Egyptian private TV stations. He has so far made no street appearances campaigning because of security concerns.

In this interview, Mr El Sisi repeated his criticism of Morsi’s term in office and the Brotherhood’s rise to power, saying the group maintained a parallel leadership and was concerned about amassing power and not solving the country’s problems. He said the group must reassess its ideology.

Mr El Sisi said the Brotherhood has lost the trust of Egyptians. “It is their problem, not mine. They need to re-evaluate themselves,” he said, accusing the group of turning a political problem into a religious war.

He said he would not allow a religious leadership, as he said the Brotherhood tried to present itself, to exist in parallel to the state and its religious institutions.

“It is not an animosity, it is not revenge between me and them,” he said.

The government has branded the Brotherhood a terrorist group, accusing it of orchestrating a violent campaign to destabilise the country. The Brotherhood denies it adopts violent means and accuses the government of seeking to smear its name.

Thousands of Morsi supporters and leading figures in his Brotherhood are behind bars on charges varying from holding illegal protests to inciting and carrying out violent attacks and co-operating with foreign militant groups. More than 1,300 were also killed in the security crackdown on protests.

Mr El Sisi refused to comment on mass trials and sentences against Brotherhood members, including a death sentence already issued against the group's leader Mohamed Badie on charges he instigated violence. The sentence can be appealed. He said the courts are independent and the law must be respected.

Prosecutors on Sunday said seven alleged Muslim Brotherhood members were sentenced to life in prison for blocking a highway and damaging a security post outside of Cairo last summer after security forces violently broke up sit-ins supporting Mr Morsi.

Another court on Sunday sentenced 36 students from an Islamic university in Cairo to four years imprisonment for taking part in a December protest against Mr Morsi’s overthrow.

* Associated Press

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Scores

Rajasthan Royals 160-8 (20 ov)

Kolkata Knight Riders 163-3 (18.5 ov)

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

How to report a beggar

Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)

Dubai – Call 800243

Sharjah – Call 065632222

Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372

Ajman – Call 067401616

Umm Al Quwain – Call 999

Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

The chef's advice

Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.

“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”

Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.

The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.

Dr Graham's three goals

Short term

Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines


Intermediate term

Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations


Long term

A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness