REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging Egypt's new rulers not to exclude the Muslim Brotherhood from the political process as they work on plans for the future.

In an interview with ARD television Sunday, Merkel reiterated Germany's call for the release of Mohammed Mursi, a Brotherhood leader who was ousted as Egypt's president by the military nearly two weeks ago. The US has backed that call.

Merkel said Egypt should embark on an "inclusive process" that accommodates all groups. She added: "Others were excluded by the Muslim Brotherhood; the opposite must not happen now."

She insisted that everything must be done to find a "common path" forward. Mursi's supporters have refused to accept his ouster or the military-backed timeline for transition, which calls for constitutional changes and new elections.

The US State Department's No. 2 diplomat, William Burns, arrived in Cairo on Sunday, the first visit by a high-level American official since Mursi's ouster. Burns was scheduled to meet with Egyptian military's installed government officials as well as civil society and business leaders during his two-day visit. The State Department says Burns would underscore in his meetings US support for the Egyptian people and a transition leading to an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government.

Meanwhile, Egypt's military chief has defended the ouster of the first elected president in Egypt, saying he acted upon the will of the people after the "stumbling" of the former government. Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood is demonstrating to demand his reinstatement.

In his first remarks since announcing the ouster of Mursi on July 3, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said the armed forces "acted at the urging of the people." State-run media carried his remarks Sunday. He said, "No one is a guardian of the public, and no one can dictate or force path or thought that they don't accept." 

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