In an interview on Egyptian Dream TV channel, Sawiris added that he had been to Egypt before June 30, but he felt there was a general state of gloom overwhelming Egyptian society. But, he added, everything looked better after June 30, as if there is a magic wand that turned things better.
“What we have seen during the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood was not seen in the eras of Nasser, Sadat or Mubarak,” he added.
Speaking about the issue of tax evasion leveled against him under the Muslim Brotherhood, Sawiris pointed out that it was a fabricated case against Orascom Construction Industries, which is owned by his father and his brother. He thought the charge was a message sent to his father to prevent him (Naguib Sawiris) from criticizing and attacking the Brotherhood.
“My father decided to pay the tax because he cannot live outside Egypt, but I did not agree with him because I believed it was a kind of terrorizing act with no legal basis,” Sawiris noted.
Commenting on the reception of his family by two members from the Egyptian presidency at the airport upon their arrival to Cairo, Sawiris said, “Refaah el-Tahtawi (an aide to Morsi) contacted my father and thanked him for paying the tax and said that he would welcome him at the airport. However, he asked my father that I not to come back to Egypt, but I insisted on returning and I indeed got out of the plane before my father, so they were shocked when they saw me at the airport.”
Sawiris spoke about the reason for the hatred by deposed president Mohamed Morsi towards him, saying, “This is because of two situations. The first was in a meeting when I dragged his hand when he said he would agree to my membership of the party, but only as affiliated because I am a Christian; so I told him, ‘I am more patriotic than you’. The second time was in a meeting with Field Marshal Tantawi, when I affirmed words Morsi’s words that I do not trust them or their decisions.”
Sawiris stressed that the reign of Morsi proved that his regime dealt with Christians as second-class citizens.
Sawiris pointed out that ONTV disturbed the military rule (SCAF) and the Muslim Brotherhood because it aired all incidents, such as those that occurred on Muhammad Mahmoud Street.
He explained that the channel is now under his management legally, and that he had to merge it with another company, to satisfy his father, who asked him to sell the channel, but its management remains in his hands.
“I prefer the parliamentary elections to be held before the presidential elections, because we have suffered from a dictator. There must be a strong parliament that is elected through fair elections so that it can dismiss the president in case he commits a mistake, without the need for a popular revolt,” Sawiris said. He said he prefers an electoral system that combines 50 percent of individual candidates and 50 percent of proportional lists to avoid the disadvantages of the two systems.
About the possibility of the return of the Muslim Brotherhood through elections, Sawiris noted that this would not happen. He stressed that the Brotherhood has become a minority as the majority of the people are now against them.
He added that he does not support excluding them, and accepts the return of those who have not been involved in bloodshed. He stressed that the basic rules of democracy state that they should not be excluded.
He added that the one of the biggest mistake committed by the Brotherhood was that they burned churches and hijacked Delga and Kerdasa; something that has weakened their case.
Commenting on the nomination of Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to the presidency, Sawiris pointed out that he expects this would happen, because the people need a leader, and Sisi proved to be a leader and a hero by taking a crucial decision and confronting the United States.
Sawiris denied rumors that he paid money to the officers who broke up the sit-ins in Rabaa el-Adaweya and Nahda squares, stressing that the dispersal of the sit-ins was necessary and in accordance with the law because they were turned into weapon depots.
He pointed out that there were attempts to break up the sit-ins peacefully, but the Brotherhood refused and deliberately wanted this end in order to allege it was a coup and to justify their subsequent killings and violence.
About the position of ElBaradei and his resignation on the day of the breakup of the protests, Sawiris said, “It was shocking and was a kind of opportunistic, and it meant that ElBaradei ended his political life with this decision.” He added that ElBaradei was informed about the time of the dispersal 48 hours earlier.
Commenting on the burning of the churches, he said, “What happened was shocking to me” and I wondered, “How can a person enter and burn a place of worship?” Sawiris stressed that if he was in front of a mosque, he would not leave it to be burned even if this required offering his life as a sacrifice.
He pointed out that the situation was bad, but Pope Tawadros’ response was great when he said that churches were a sacrifice for the liberation of Egypt.
Commenting on the American attitude towards the Egyptian revolution, Sawiris said, “The Americans always side with the winner,” pointing out that they supported Mubarak for 30 years, and abandoned him in a moment.
He explained that he had contacts with people in Congress and complained of American support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which angered the Brotherhood. He added that he refused to meet Anne Patterson because of her anti-democratic pronouncements.
Sawiris called for renouncing revenge, releasing Mubarak, and focus on building Egypt and its future, as the economic situation in Egypt is bad. He also called for stopping demonstrations and sit-ins for two years to build Egypt.
“The Muslim Brotherhood will not rise again, because those who took to the streets on June 30 elected the Brotherhood, but the group’s reality was exposed to them,” Sawiris concluded.
It is worth mentioning that a number of Islamists wrote a phrase reading, “We will execute you, Sawiris,” on the walls of the Mobinil branch in the Suez Bridge region in Cairo during their march on September 13.
Sawiris responded on his personal Twitter account by saying, “May the Lord forgive you.”
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Edited from: http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=49814