STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Military reportedly has taken control of state TV studios in Cairo
- Egypt’s military chief meets with commanders
- 23 reported killed in clashes at Cairo University
- Protests elsewhere were mostly peaceful
Are you in Egypt? Send us your experiences, but please stay safe.
Cairo (CNN) — Time appeared to be running out Wednesday for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy as a deadline passed on a military ultimatum.
“We swear by God that we are ready to sacrifice our blood for Egypt and its people against any terrorist, extremist or ignorant,” military generals said in a statement titled “The Final Hours.”
On Monday, the military gave the nation’s first democratically elected president 48 hours to accommodate his opponents with a power-sharing agreement or be pushed aside. That left him until about 5 p.m. (11 a.m. ET) Wednesday.
Morsy vowed Tuesday night that he would not comply.
As throngs of Egyptians have been demonstrating for and against President Mohamed Morsy, photographers have sought vantage points far above the crowds, enabling them to show the enormity of the gatherings. Here, protesters gather as fireworks explode over Tahrir Square in Cairo on Tuesday, July 2. Click through the gallery for more aerials of the protests. 
Egyptian men supporting Morsy pray during a rally near the Rabaa Adawiya mosque in Cairo on Monday, July 1. 
Protesters at Tahrir Square in Cairo on July 1 demand that Morsy resign. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo, which has been closed since June 30, will remain closed on Wednesday. 
Morsy opponents protest outside the presidential palace in Cairo on July 1. 
Protesters carry large Egyptian flags while shouting slogans against Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood outside the presidential place on July 1. 
A sea of protesters opposing Morsy waves flags in Tahrir Square on Sunday, June 30. The Obama administration has urged Morsy to call early elections 
Morsy opponents sit on a banner outside the presidential palace on June 30. State-funded Egyptian daily Al-Ahram has reported 46 sexual assaults during anti-Morsy protests in Egypt since June 30. 
Participants in an anti-Morsy protest pray in Tahrir Square on June 30. 
Anti-Morsy protesters pack Tahrir Square on June 30. Morsy, a U.S.-educated Islamist, was elected Egypt’s president in June 2012. Critics say he’s become increasingly authoritarian. 
Morsy supporters gather next to the Rabaa El-Adaweya mosque during a demonstration on June 28. Egyptian demonstrations from above
Egyptian demonstrations from above
Egyptian demonstrations from above
Egyptian demonstrations from above
Egyptian demonstrations from above
Egyptian demonstrations from above
Egyptian demonstrations from above
Egyptian demonstrations from above
Egyptian demonstrations from above
Egyptian demonstrations from above
HIDE CAPTION
<<
<</span>
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
>
>>
Egyptian demonstrations from above 
“There is no alternative to the constitutional legitimacy and to the constitution,” he said in a televised address. “I will not allow for anyone to say things that will violate this legitimacy or to take steps that will shake up it up.”
He added: “If the price of upholding this legitimacy is my own blood, I am, therefore, ready to sacrifice my blood for this country and its stability.”
He demanded the military withdraw its ultimatum and return to its barracks.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Interior Ministry said in a statement that it was determined to maintain order. “The police force stands side by side with the armed forces in protecting the country and the citizens,” it said.
Reuters and several other news organizations reported that Egyptian troops had “secured the central Cairo studios of state television” as the deadline approached and that staff not working on live shows had departed.
CNN has not confirmed the reports.
Massive demonstrations for and against the former Muslim Brotherhood leader who was elected to office a year ago have been largely peaceful.
But 23 people died, health officials said, and hundreds more were injured in clashes overnight at Cairo University, the state-funded Al-Ahram news agency reported.
Protest leaders have called for nonviolence.
Opinion: Give Morsy a chance to fix this
Egypt’s military was meeting Wednesday with religious, national, political and youth leaders to address the crisis, Egyptian military spokesman, Ahmed Ali, said through his Facebook page.
An opposition spokesman accused the United States of propping up Morsy out of concern for neighboring Israel.
“The hour of victory is coming,” said Mahmoud Badr of the Tamarod opposition group. He predicted that the “illegitimate president” would be gone by the end of the day.
“Not America, not Morsy, not anyone can impose their will on the Egyptian people,” Badr said.
Opinion: Egyptians are fed up with Morsy
Switching sides
With the ultimatum, the armed forces appear to have thrown their weight behind those opposed to Morsy’s Islamist government.
Early Wednesday, soldiers and police set up a perimeter around the opposition’s central meeting point, Cairo’s Tahrir Square, “to secure it from any possible attack,” the state-run EgyNews agency reported.
It was the police who, on the same spot in 2011, killed hundreds when they fired upon democratic, moderate and Islamic demonstrators seeking to overthrow Hosni Mubarak, the country’s longtime autocratic leader and U.S. ally.
Mubarak had long repressed the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic political movement that emerged as the nation’s most powerful political force once Mubarak was ousted.
Morsy has few friends as deadline looms
Many of the democratic reformists and moderates who have accused Morsy’s government of moving in an authoritarian direction now support former Mubarak supporters and others fed up with the nation’s direction in calling for the restoration of order through the military.
Together they are pushing to oust Morsy and his Muslim conservative government, whose leaders were drawn primarily from the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood. They say they have collected more than 20 million signatures on a petition to remove him — millions more than the number who voted Morsy into the presidency.
In recent days, anti-Morsy demonstrators have ransacked Muslim Brotherhood offices all over the country.
Brotherhood members have complained that police did not protect them. Some have taken matters into their own hands, in one instance firing upon vandals with shotguns, an international journalism association reported.
Governments issue warnings against travel to Egypt
Coup or no?
Military leaders have told Arab media that they plan to suspend the constitution, dissolve the parliament and sideline Morsy.
In his place, they would install a mainly civilian interim council until a new constitution can be drafted and a new president elected.
The military’s ultimatum was intended to push all factions toward a national consensus, not to seize power through a coup, a spokesman, Col. Ahmed Ali, said Monday in a written statement.
The military appears to be pressuring Morsy to restructure his government to reduce the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and include opposition members, a source close to highly placed members of Egypt’s leadership told CNN.
That restructuring was already happening. Five of Morsy’s ministers resigned this week, including Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr.
And former Prosecutor General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud will meet Thursday with the Supreme Judicial Council to be officially confirmed in the job.
Mahmoud had originally been installed in the job by Mubarak, shortly before he left. One of the goals during the 2011 revolution had been to oust him, which Morsy did through last November’s constitutional declarations.
Mahmoud’s return appeared to signify a shrinking of Morsy’s power and a tilt toward Mubarak-era officials over Muslim Brotherhood loyalists.
In addition, 30 members of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, have resigned, state-run Nile TV reported.
Opinion: In Egypt, rage must lead to game plan
Morsy defends his presidency
Morsy’s numerous and adamant supporters point out that he is the legitimate president and say that opponents seeking to depose him are circumventing the democratic process.
The unrest prompted U.S. President Barack Obama to call Morsy on Monday and urge a less rigid stance. “He stressed that democracy is about more than elections,” a White House statement said.
He pushed him to form a more inclusive government.
Should tourists still visit Egypt?
A White House official told CNN that Obama was briefed on the situation in Egypt on Wednesday by his national security staff.
The Obama administration appeared to be giving mixed signals on where it stands. On Tuesday, Obama called on Morsy to hold early elections, a senior administration official said.
“We are saying to him, ‘Figure out a way to go for new elections,’ ” the official said. “That may be the only way that this confrontation can be resolved.”
A State Department spokeswoman, however, denied that Obama urged early elections.
Though Muslim Brotherhood leaders have called members to refrain from bloodshed, others have told them to be prepared to die.
And one Islamist group said it would take up arms if Morsy is deposed.
Rand Paul: Stop using U.S. taxpayer money to aid Morsy
The Egyptian leader’s failings
Morsy, a U.S.-educated religious conservative, was elected president in June 2012. But his approval ratings have plummeted.
His government has failed to keep order as the economy has tanked and crime has soared, including open sexual assaults on women in Egypt’s streets. Chaos has driven away many tourists and investors.
That has disaffected many among Egypt’s poor and middle classes, said Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics.
“The millions of Egyptians who cheered for Morsy are saying he must go,” Gerges said.
He called Morsy “incompetent” but said he doubted the military would depose him, adding that that would drive Egypt into an even deeper crisis.
U.S. student killed in Egypt was enthralled with region
CNN’s Dan Lothian, Amir Ahmed, Ben Brumfield, Ali Younes, Chelsea Carter, Schams Elwazer, Elise Labott, Ben Wedeman, Ian Lee, Housam Ahmed and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report.
Taken from:
The post Egypt standoff appeared first on Arne Ruhnau News.
via Arne Ruhnau News http://arneruhnau.com/egypt-standoff/
No comments:
Post a Comment