The four Irish citizens arrested in Cairo must be released immediately and Irish Government must obviously do everything it can to assist their safe return to this country.
The Government should also make a strong statement condemning the vicous and barbaric repression and breaking off diplomatic relations with Egypt. They should also demand that the US end the massive military aid that they give to Egypt.
To say these things is not to support the the ideas or policies of President Morsi or the Muslim Brotherhood, which I disagree with, but to defend their basic democratic and human rights. It is also to understand that the repression of the Muslim Brotherhood is not a threat to them alone but threatens all the gains of the 2011 revolution and will affect workers, trade unionists, students and all dissidents.
What Egypt needs is not return to military rule and dictatorship, but genuine people’s democracy’