Egypt's Ambassador to Australia, Hassan El-Laithy, has labelled the Egyptian military political intervention as “a positive move” in the country's path toward democracy.
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The military ousted the the nation's Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, replacing him with a chief justice and calling for an early presidential election, but Mr El-Laithy said it was not correct to call the actions a coup.
“[It] is not the case, because if you are facing a military coup, it starts from the military, but if you see 30 million going to the street and the military siding to support the people … this is the will of the people, so I think this should be emphasised,” he told Fairfax Media.
“As long as the majority of people have shown interest to see a change in a peaceful way, a democratic way, we can see that kind of change taking place peacefully, and again [Egypt is] on the path of democratic transformation.”
The Ambassador believes the protests are a “self-correction” within Egypt's democratic transformation, following the Arab Spring, which ousted Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
“I think we are really seeing a very important change that can bring the interest of the nation, and to start real reconciliation which includes all political diversity – and also youth [and] women; to respect all the needs of the people,” he said.
“This could be a very good example for other democracies I think. This is something that should be seen very constructively and very positively for other democracies, even well-established democracies.
“It is practice from time to time to see early elections within government or a leader stepping down just because they felt the majority of the people do not support them enough, and I think this has been demonstrated,” he said, acknowledging it would have been “easier” if President Mursi had called an early election himself.
Mr El-Laithy called for all Egyptians and the country's trading partners to use this period constructively to achieve financial and political stability for the country, which has seen a substantial drop in tourism since the uprising in 2011.
“It is the time to work harder, we should mobilise ourselves and our partners and friends. We should work harder and see some tangible results for our work. I think it is the time to be motivated," he said.
“When [Egyptians] see the nation … moving not towards more successes in the country, you don't see stability growing in the country. I think this is the main motivation for going to the streets – not because they want to go to the streets.
“We have to realise that better progress of the economy will need some important foundation; political stability, security, so I think with this democratic change … I'm optimistic things will be better.”
