In a speech marking the Ramadan 10th anniversary of the October 6 War, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi defended his latest decision to cut fuel subsidies and warned of rising extremism. In the yearly Presidential address, which marks the day during Ramadan when Egypt launched the 1973 war with Israel, President Sisi commenced by tackling concerns regarding a cut in fuel and electricity subsidies. “These decisions we had to take are like a bitter medicine,” asserted the President in the recorded speech. “It would have been easy not to raise the prices now to maintain my popularity, but then I would have betrayed your trust in saving the country.” The President repeated his statements from months before coming to power that addressing Egypt’s economic issues would not be easy and that it would require several years of hardship and work. “My aim is that you will work with me. I want street vendors and micro-bus drivers to work with me,” said the President, citing recent protests by public transport workers following fuel price hikes. “This is not the role of the state alone, but it is the role of all of us…Every decision we…
Egypt’s President Sisi explains subsidy cuts, warns religion is being used to destroy the region
July 8, 2014
