CAIRO – Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi raised many an eyebrow during his address marking the 60 years of 1952 Revolution. Morsi described the army revolution, which toppled the country's monarchy 60 years ago, a “U-turn” in the country's modern history, but said it had failed to initiate “genuine democracy”. “The revolution succeeded in fulfilling and enhancing some of its goals, but it faltered in others, particularly those related to genuine democracy,” Morsi said in a televised address late Sunday. Several political and national figures differed with him because he implicitly criticized the July Revolution. But others described the speech as positive since it came from a president belonging to the Muslims Brotherhood. Morsi, however, did not mention the name of former president Gamal Abdul Nasser, the hero of the revolution. This happened at a time when the national forces celebrated the revolution at Al-Quba neighborhood which is in the vicinity of the presidential palace. Nasser's grandson Gamal Abdel Hakim criticized what he called Morsi's disrespect for the leaders of 1952 revolution, saying Morsi would have not been in this position without them. He added that Egypt is now in desperate need of a leader. In an address Sameeh Ashour, the Head of the Egyptian Lawyers' Union, said the majority of the Egyptians look at the July Revolution as the most important event in the country's history and as the legitimate precursor to the January 25 Revolution. He said the January Revolution was a natural extension to the July Revolution, pointing that any attempt to separate the two revolutions is nothing but an attempt to present history in a different light. Mustapha Bakr, a member of the dissolved parliament, said the spontaneous presence of the mobs at Nasser's mausoleum was a clear message to those who called for canceling the celebrations to mark the July Revolution. TV star Fardous Abdul Hameed said the Egypt's January Revolution was a natural extension of the July Revolution. In his blog, Hamdeen Sabbahi, who ranked third in the presidential election race, said, “The achievements of Egypt's July Revolution are many and the January 25 Revolution is continuation of it. We are not only celebrating Nasser, but all of Egypt's revolutionary figures.”
