Egypt needs time to "heal" itself, says Luxembourg resident

As an Egyptian national living in Luxembourg Hani Nasser recalls he had never felt so proud of his country than after the 2011 Egyptian revolution which deposed president Hosni Mubarak.

But, two and a half years later, and with the Muslim Brotherhood holding violent demonstrations in Egypt, he says he is saddened by what he sees.

“I'm sad about what's happened. This blood-letting is useless. Violence and blood will not conduct us to something good.”

Bloody demonstrations

His comments come over a week after violent clashes between members of the Muslim Brotherhood, protesting against the recent deposition of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, police and the army, ended in the deaths of hundreds of people.

The 47-year-old Egyptologist, who has closely followed the progress in his native country, defended the actions of the army in response to violence from some of the protesting Muslim Brotherhood members. And, he dismisses claims of an army coup in the ousting of Morsi, saying that after a year in power, the majority of Egyptians considered him to be no better than his predecessor.

“It's not an army coup. A coup is when a few military chiefs go against legitimacy. I never saw in my life a coup with millions of people in the street asking for the army to interfere,” he said.

What steps for peace?

Hani, like many of his countrymen, hopes that the violence is over in Egypt and that calm can be restored.

Last Wednesday, EU Foreign Ministers agreed to suspend the trade of arms and security goods with Egypt. Could external interference be one solution for peace? Hani thinks not and is optimistic that a solution can be found domestically.

“For me the solution now is everyone must stop the violence. I hope that the Muslim Brotherhood members who are against violence will invite their militants to stop fighting and holding violent demonstrations and negotiate with secular and liberal groups and that they will go quickly for a reconciliation,” he said.

Hani explained that the democratic process was underway to rewrite the constitution and hold fresh elections in January 2014. He called for the EU and the rest of the world to allow Egypt the time to resolve its problems itself.

“Now Egypt has a wound and I think that only Egyptians can heal this wound and they're already doing it,” he said.

What next?

Despite the shocking news footage and violence, Hani is not afraid to return to his native country where his friends and family live. Luxair cancelled its Egypt flights until mid-September because of the unrest.

But, Hani suggests that, on the whole, Egypt is safe and the violence is confined to small pockets. Though, he recognises it will take time and a strong political message before the country's tourism industry is restored, Egypt's “charm, charisma and history” will win back the tourists.