AFP, Cairo :
An aide to Egypt’s interim president said Tuesday the country will never return to the corruption and authoritarianism of dictator Hosni Mubarak, deposed in a popular uprising in 2011.
Mustaf Hegazy, speaking to foreign journalists in Cairo, said: “There is no room for extremism, fascism, corruption and autocracy to return.
“There is no room for manifestations of Egypt before January 25 and June 30 to return,” he added.
That was a reference to the date three years ago this week when the uprising erupted that forced Mubarak to stand down just 18 days later.
But it was also a swipe at Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was deposed on July 3, four days after millions of people took to the streets to demand his resignation just a year after he was elected to replace Mubarak.
Following Morsi’s ouster, the military-installed government cracked down on his supporters. At least 1,000 people, mostly Islamists, have been killed and thousands more have been arrested since the suppression began in August.
