Egypt’s Sisi says anti-regime protests to fail

By Hussein Mahmoud

CAIRO (AA) – Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has expected the failure of next month’s demonstrations called by anti-regime critics to protest recent price hikes in the country.

Activists have called mass rallies on November 11 to protest price hikes in a country that has been facing a crippling economic crisis since 2011.

“The Egyptians are more aware than anyone can imagine…so all efforts by the ‘people of evil’ will fail,” Sisi said in an interview with Egypt’s pro-government newspapers.

“The Egyptian people are aware of attempts aimed to drag Egypt into chaos and insist on not allowing this to happen,” he said.

Public anger has been growing in Egypt in recent months as prices of basic commodities have risen up with many blaming the Sisi regime for mishandling the economy.

Investors have largely shunned Egypt since 2011 when a popular uprising unseated autocrat president Hosni Mubarak.

A surge in militant attacks has also scared away tourists, hard-hitting Egypt’s tourism industry, a main source of foreign currency.