WarSclerotic

Millions take to the streets in Egypt as army threatens to call elections | The Times of Israel.

24 hours before ultimatum expires: military’s road map for political stability said to include suspending constitution and dissolving parliament

Hundreds of thousands of anti-Morsi protesters hold demonstrations at Cairo’s Tahrir Square, on Tuesday, July 2. (photo credit: screen capture/Channel 10 news)

CAIRO — With a military deadline for intervention ticking down, millions of protesters seeking the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist president sought Tuesday to push the embattled leader further toward the edge with another massive show of resolve and unity.

The ultimatum issued to President Mohammed Morsi by the opposition parties expired Tuesday afternoon, sparking renewed mass protests all across the country. Hundreds of thousands of people swarmed to Cairo’s Tahrir Square, waving flags and chanting anti-Morsi slogans. The Tamarod, or Rebel, movement which organized the protests had given the president until 5 p.m. Tuesday (15:00 GMT) to step down or face even larger demonstrations and possible “complete civil disobedience.”

Egypt’s state news agency reported Tuesday that the military has drawn up a plan to suspend the Islamist-backed constitution, dissolve the Islamist-dominated legislature, and set up an interim administration if Morsi fails to reach a solution with his opponents.

The agency’s report provided the first details of the road map the military has said it will implement if a deadline it set for Wednesday runs out with no solution.

A retired army general with close ties to the military confirmed the report.

Hossam Sweilam said a panel of experts would draft a new constitution and the interim administration would be a presidential council led by the Supreme Constitutional Court’s chief justice and including the defense minister, representatives of political parties, youth groups, Al-Azhar Mosque and the Coptic Church.

Hours after issuing its ulimatum on Monday afternoon, the military issued a second statement on its Facebook page denying it intended a coup. “The ideology and culture of the Egyptian armed forces does not allow for the policy of a military coup,” it said.

In its initial statement, the military said it would “announce a road map for the future and measures to implement it” if Morsi and its opponents cannot reach a consensus within 48 hours — a virtual impossibility. It promised to include all “patriotic and sincere” factions in the process.

The military underlined it will “not be a party in politics or rule.” But it said it has a responsibility to find a solution because Egypt’s national security is facing a “grave danger,” according to the statement.

In a significant move, opposition parties and the youth movement behind the demonstrations agreed that reform leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei would represent them in any negotiations on the country’s political future.

The pact, at least in theory, should end the bickering and rivalries that have plagued the opposition.

At the same time, Morsi faced fissures from within after a stunning surge of street rage reminiscent of Egypt’s Arab Spring revolution in 2011 that cleared the way for Morsi’s long-suppressed Muslim Brotherhood to win the first open elections in decades.

Three government spokesmen were the latest to quit as part of high-level defections that underscored his increasing isolation.

The police, which is under control of the Interior Ministry, have stood on the sidelines of the protests, refusing even to protect the offices of the Muslim Brotherhood that have been attacked and ransacked. Their ministry has thrown its considerable weight behind the military.

In response to the growing pressures on Morsi, his Islamist backers have stepped up their own warnings that it may take bloodshed to dislodge him.

Some supporters say they would rather die fighting a military takeover than accept Morsi’s ouster just a year after the country’s first free election.

“Seeking martyrdom to prevent the ongoing coup is what we can offer as a sign of gratitude to previous martyrs who died in the revolution,” Brotherhood stalwart Mohammed el-Beltagi wrote Tuesday on his official Facebook page.

Morsi, meanwhile, met with Defense Minister and army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Kandil in the second such meeting in as many days. No details were given about the meeting, reported by an official at the president’s office, Ayman Ali.

The meeting, however, suggests that efforts were being made to resolve the crisis, although there is little time and almost no political will from the opposition to accept anything less than Morsi’s departure.

At least 16 have been killed in clashes since Sunday between Morsi’s opponents and his many backers, who have equated the demonstrations and military arm-twisting to a coup against a democratically elected president.

Morsi’s backers have also hunkered down at their own rally site, vowing to resist any attempts to nullifying his election last year and the rise of Islamist voices in Egypt’s political affairs after bring muzzled under Mubarak.

The volatile atmosphere has been made even more unsettled by the prospect the military could soon step in.

The military’s declaration, read Monday on state TV, put enormous pressure on Morsi to step down and sent giant crowds opposing the president in Cairo and other cities into delirious celebrations of singing, dancing and fireworks.

But it also raised worries on both sides that the army could take over outright as it did after the 2011 ouster of Mubarak and raised the risk of a backlash from Morsi’s Islamist backers, some of whom once belonged to armed militant groups.

Morsi’s office issued a statement saying a “modern democratic state” was one of the main achievements of the anti-Mubarak uprising, adding, “With all its force, Egypt will not allow itself to be taken backward.”

While not bluntly rejecting the ultimatum, it said Morsi was still reviewing the military statement and that some parts of it “could cause disturbances in the complicated national scene.”

At the same time, he is grappling with growing dissent within his inner circle.

A foreign ministry official said career diplomats Omar Amer and Ihab Fahmy have stepped down after nearly five months speaking on behalf of Morsi. On Monday, six Cabinet ministers quit.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

State TV later reported the resignation of Cabinet spokesman Alaa el-Hadidy.

Also Tuesday, an Egyptian court dealt another blow to Morsi’s authority, ruling that the president’s widely disputed appointment of an attorney general last November was illegal.

Morsi’s dismissal of Mahmoud Abdel-Meguid, who was appointed by Mubarak, was seen by the judiciary as an encroachment on its independence. The opposition has long demanded the removal of Abdel-Meguid’s successor, Talaat Abdullah.

President Barack Obama said the US is committed to democracy in Egypt, not any particular leader. Traveling in Tanzania, Obama said that although Morsi was democratically elected, the government must respect its opposition and minority groups.

Egypt’s presidency said Morsi received a phone call from Obama, who said the US administration “supports peaceful democratic transition in Egypt.”

Sunday’s protests on the first anniversary of Morsi’s inauguration were the largest seen in the country in the 2½ years of turmoil since Egyptians first rose up against Mubarak in January 2011.

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