In a March 10 televised address to a military gathering, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Egyptians against the dangers of protesting. "Protesters elsewhere are ruining their countries," he said. Sisi did not mention the countries by name, but he was clearly unnerved by ongoing mass protests in Sudan and Algeria.
"All this talk [of protests] comes at a price that people are required to pay," he said. "How are tourism or factories or trade supposed to get off the ground? Should we eat or should we say that we are busy protesting?"