Egypt’s parliament to reconvene as new crisis looms between Mursi and judiciary, million-man march planned for Tuesday

Egypt’s parliament to reconvene as new crisis looms between Mursi and judiciary, million-man march planned for Tuesday.(AA).Egypt’s lower house of parliament (People’s Assembly) will convene on Tuesday, at the call of Parliamentary Speaker Saad al-Katatni, following a decree by the country’s newly elected president Mohammed Mursi reinstating the assembly, which was dissolved following a ruling on June 14 by Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court. Egypt’s top court has rejected Mursi’s decree, setting him on a collision course with the military which says the rule of law must be respected. “All the rulings and decisions of the Supreme Constitutional Court are final and not subject to appeal... and are binding for all state institutions,” the court said in a statement Monday.
People’s Assembly Secretary General Sami Mahran was quoted by the online edition of the state-run al-Ahram as telling parliamentary correspondents on Monday that the assembly’s secretariat had “sent invitations to 508 MPs, asking them to return on July 10 and resume attending sessions and performing their parliamentary duties.” “MPs were allowed to enter the parliament building today [Monday] after they had been barred by security forces on June 14 following the Supreme Constitutional Court verdict that led to the dissolution of parliament’s lower house,” he said. Mursi’s surprise decree, according to Mahran, has overturned an order by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), commanding security forces to bar MPs from entering the parliament building. “Tantawi’s order is no longer valid,” Mahran was quoted as saying. “It expired today by virtue of Mursi’s decree in the latter’s capacity as president of the republic. “
Some MPs had declared on satellite television channels that they planned to resign from the assembly to object to Mursi’s order, but I have not received any written resignations,” he said. Ahmed al-Zind, the head of the powerful association of judges, gave Mursi a 36-hour ultimatum to rescind his decision and offer an apology to judges or face what he called “harsher” options. The SCAF, which ruled Egypt after former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year, underlined the “importance of the constitution in light of the latest developments,” the official MENA news agency reported. “The state will respect all aspects of the Constitutional Declaration,” stated the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on Monday in reaction to Mursi’s decree. Egypt’s daily al-Masry al-Youm cited a statement by SCAF as stressing the necessity of respecting the rule of law, the constitution and governmental institutions to maintain the integrity of the Egyptian state and show respect to the Egyptian people. U.S. Muslim Brotherhood Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due in Egypt on July 14 to express U.S. support for the process of democratic transition in the U.S. ally state.The dispute over the fate of parliament has divided the nation just as Egyptians were looking forward to a semblance of stability after the tumult of the 17 months since the ouster of longtime authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak. Egypt has seen a dramatic surge in crime, deadly street protests, a faltering economy and seemingly non-stop strikes, sit-ins and demonstrations.Hmmmm......"There will be blood?"Read the full story here.