EDITOR PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
The Egyptian president has cancelled a decree that gave him sweeping powers and sparked deadly violence.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ACTING PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN, MOHAMED SELIM EL-AWA, SAYING:
"It is decided that the constitutional decree issued on 21 November 2012 is cancelled as of today."
But his Muslim Brotherhood said a referendum on a new constitution would go ahead as planned on Dec. 15 -- and protesters at Tahrir square are not impressed.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAHMOUD AL-A'AAD, DEMONSTRATOR, SAYING:
"The demands of the people were represented in two things: the cancellation of the constitutional decree and the postponement of the referendum. One out of two is not good enough for the Egyptian people. The referendum must be postponed until an agreed upon constitution is put in place."
The political turmoil has exposed deep rifts between the Islamists and their rivals who fear religious conservatives will restrict social freedoms
