The Egyptian Student Union (ESU) – which represents student unions in Egyptian universities nationwide – condemned a statement by Muslim Brotherhood students claiming to represent the position of all Egyptian students regarding recent political events.
The Muslim Brotherhood students published a statement on their Facebook page Wednesday entitled "statement of the student unions, forces and movements." The statement denounced what they termed as a "military coup" against ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
Morsi was overthrown by the military on 3 June after mass protests against him calling for early presidential elections.
The ESU called the statement a 'fake,' for it had not endorsed the Brotherhood's claims. The ESU's statement also accused the Muslim Brotherhood students of putting their interests before those of Egyptian students, whom they said the Brotherhood does not represent, according to Al-Ahram's Arabic news website.
The statement published on the Brotherhood students' page said it rejected the roadmap put forth by the military and former opposition. It also said it did not recognise the new government sworn in on Tuesday and that students would continue their peaceful sit-in.
Morsi supporters are demanding that Morsi be reinstated as president and have been holding sit-ins and protests since Morsi's deposition.
The ESU said it supported the Egyptian people's demands and hopes for building a great nation, a reference to their support for Morsi's removal.
The ESU is headed by an independent student, Mohamed Badran, who was elected by universities earlier this year. The deputy head, Ahmed El-Bakri, ran with the backing of the Brotherhood.
Independent students and students belonging to the former opposition made headway in this year's elections. They broke the Brotherhood's dominance within student unions, which had been exacerbated by the former opposition's boycott of last year's elections.
The ESU amended the student charter this week, a demand for which they had pressed since the previous Brotherhood-dominated ESU passed new bylaws in 2012. The charter is yet to be ratified.
