* Morsi supporters, rivals clash outside his palace * Moussa demands formal proposal to end unrest
CAIRO – Egypt's vice president proposed ideas Wednesday to defuse unrest over a draft constitution that has polarised the most populous Arab nation, with Islamists fighting opposition protesters near the presidential palace. Vice President Mahmoud Mekky said amendments to disputed articles could be agreed with the opposition. A written agreement could then be submitted to the next parliament, to be elected after a referendum on the constitution on Dec. 15. “There must be consensus,” he told a news conference, saying opposition demands must be respected to overcome the crisis. Egyptian opposition leader Amr Moussa said President Mohamed Morsi should make a formal offer for dialogue, rather than what Mekky had presented as personal ideas to resolve the row. A senior Muslim Brotherhood official said Mekky's proposals needed to be crystallized. “We are ready when there is something formal, something expressed in definite terms, we will not ignore it, especially if there is something useful,” Moussa said during talks with other opposition figures. The website of Al-Ahram said opposition leaders were discussing Mekky's proposals. They have previously urged Morsi to retract a decree widening his powers, defer the plebiscite and agree to revise the constitution, but have not echoed calls from street protesters for his overthrow and the “downfall of the regime.” Morsi had returned to work at his compound a day after it came under siege from protesters furious at his assumption of extraordinary powers via an edict on Nov. 22. Morsi, narrowly elected by popular vote in June, said he acted to stop courts still full of judges appointed by ousted president Hosni Mubarak from derailing a constitution meant to complete a political transition in Egypt. Rival groups threw stones at each other outside the presidential palace in northern Cairo Wednesday.
Islamist supporters of Morsi tore down tents erected by leftist foes, who had begun a sit-in there. “They hit us and destroyed our tents. Are you happy, Morsi? Aren't we Egyptians too?” asked protester Haitham Ahmed. Dozens of opposition supporters streamed away from the palace as hundreds of Islamists arrived. Mohamed Mohy, a pro-Morsi demonstrator who was filming the scene, said: “We are here to support our president and his decisions and save our country from traitors and agents.” Facing the gravest crisis of his six-month-old tenure, Morsi has shown no sign of buckling, confident that Islamists can win the referendum and a parliamentary election to follow. Many Egyptians yearn for an end to political upheaval that has scared off investors and tourists, damaging the economy. Mekky said street mobilization by both sides posed a “real danger” to Egypt. “If we do not put a stop to this phenomenon right away ..., where are we headed? We must calm down.” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighed into Egypt's political debate, saying dialogue was urgently needed on the new constitution, which should “respect the rights of all citizens”. “It needs to be a two-way dialogue ... among Egyptians themselves about the constitutional process and the substance of the constitution,” Clinton told a news conference in Brussels. Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan was quoted on its Facebook page as saying opposition groups “imagined they could shake legitimacy or impose their views by force”. Essam El-Erian, deputy head of the Brotherhood's political party, said: “The president will not retreat.” – Reuters
