Egypt's pro-democracy alliance vows to fight on

CAIRO (AA) – A coalition of Egyptian Islamist parties and groups that demand ousted president Mohamed Morsi's reinstatement has vowed to continue staging demonstrations nationwide to decry the elected leader's July 3 overthrow by the military.

The National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy will "continue as usual on Tuesday to protest in Cairo and other provinces," Magdi Salem, head of the Islamic Party and senior alliance member, told Anadolu Agency early Tuesday.

The pro-Morsi alliance, he added, would "never back down."

Pro-democracy students at Egypt's Al-Azhar University also vowed to stage demonstrations for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday.

Ahmed al-Baqari, head of the Azhar University student union, said that student uprisings "will take to the streets across Egypt to protest the coup and support [democratic] legitimacy."

On Monday, protesting students surrounded several faculties on the Azhar's Cairo campus, forcing them to close their doors.

In a statement, university administrators asserted that classes would not be suspended despite the daily protests.

"Muslim Brotherhood students at Azhar don't have the right to suspend or disrupt university studies," the statement read.

The university also threatened to penalize any student found spray-painting "obscene slogans" on university property. Violators, it warned, would face suspension of up to two years.

At least 41 Azhar students were arrested on Sunday during protests outside the university that later devolved into clashes with police.

Al-Azhar University postponed the launch of the academic year (which normally starts in September) to the beginning of this week due to what university administrators described as "unfinished maintenance work."

Student sources, however, say the move was taken for "security reasons," especially given the fact that Al-Azhar University is considered a bastion of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated student activity.

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