News

Could Egypt Peace Talks Be Near?

by Gillian White

Some militant groups in Egypt may be ready to strike a deal.

As the Muslim Brotherhood tries to hold their movement together, two Islamist protest groups are reportedly ready to call a truce with the Egyptian army.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed Abu Samra said that his group was "paving the way for talks" citing the escalating violence in the country as an impetus for peace. When asked about holding fast to one of the main tenants of the pro-Morsi protests — the restoration of Mohammed Morsi as president — Samra said, "blood is more treasured than seats of power ... we are no long upholding return of the constitutional legitimacy."

That's bad news for the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that's been organizing and staging protests to the ouster of Morsi since July 3. A recent crackdown, which resulted in the most lethal violence since the 2011 Arab Spring, has quelled demonstrations and left many wondering if the Brotherhood's movement could survive.

A Brotherhood negotiator, Amr Darrag, said that the group was open to the idea of peace talks but would require "confidence-building measures," like assurances that the deaths of pro-Morsi supporters would be looked into. That's not likely, according to Darrag who said that, "the other side didn't show a single gesture or any sign that it is ready for dialogue. It only talks about it."

The news that the resistance may be ready to talk with Egyptian authorities comes as the trial for one of the Brotherhood's highest officials, Mohammed Badie, gets underway. Badie was arrested during the August police crackdown that violently cleared protestor settlements and placed scores of protestors under arrest. Badie, the supreme leader of the Brotherhood, faces charges of inciting murder.

Badie's trial coincides with the resumption of the trial of Hosni Mubarak, whose ouster from power precipitated the Arab Spring. Mubarak, who was released to house arrest at a military prison, is being retried for the deaths of hundreds of protestors.