CAIRO — Egyptian anti-government activists have expressed outrage over a statement by the U.S. ambassador in Cairo in which she criticized street protests as opposition gears up for mass rallies to demand the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.
The ambassador, Anne Patterson, said in a speech earlier this week that she is "deeply skeptical" that protests will be fruitful, saying "more violence on the streets will do little more than add new names to the lists of martyrs."
Patterson's comments have been widely interpreted as referring to June 30 opposition-led protests.
Leading opposition activist Shady el-Ghazali Harb says Patterson showed "blatant bias" to Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood administration. He says the U.S. administration has "won the enmity of the Egyptian people."
Tens of thousands of pro-Morsi proponents held a demonstration on Friday.
