Egypt's President Says He Will Not Step Down, Calls on Military to Withdraw Ultimatum

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press / Reuters

EGYPT'S MORSI DEFIANTLY SAYS HE WON'T STEP DOWN

By HAMZA HENDAWI and MAGGIE MICHAEL
— Jul. 2 5:19 PM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — With the clock ticking, Egypt's besieged president said Tuesday that he will not step down as state media reported that the powerful military plans to overturn his Islamist-dominated government if the elected leader doesn't meet the demands of the millions of protesters calling for his ouster.

Mohammed Morsi's defiant statement sets up a major confrontation between supporters of the president and Egyptians angry over what they see as his efforts to impose control by his Muslim Brotherhood as well as his failure to introduce reforms more than two years after the revolution that ousted his autocratic predecessor Hosni Mubarak.

Writing Tuesday on his official Twitter account, Morsi said he "asserts his adherence to constitutional legitimacy and rejects any attempt to breach it and calls on the armed forces to withdraw their ultimatum and rejects any domestic or foreign dictates."

The leaking of the military's so-called political road map appeared aimed at adding pressure on Morsi by showing the public and the international community that the military has a plan that does not involve a coup.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/egypt-edge-after-armys-ultimatum-president

[Half-Century Man]

1. Well, he seems confident.

[bunnies]

2. Oh boy.

This will end well.

[Warpy]

4. I only see two equally ugly outcomes

Either Morsi will be supported and everybody with the audacity to protest will be slaughtered in the square or Morsi will be slaughtered and Egypt will be under military rule again.

[bunnies]

5. Its pretty bad when a Presidents death and military rule

seems like the best possible option. He doesnt stand a chance at staying in power if the military turns against him. Seems like he's got a bit of a death wish. Slaughtering protesters isnt going to win him any fans either.

[Warpy]

6. Sad to say, people would be likely to support military rule again

because they did keep order and they were mostly secular, which means relative freedom for Egyptians. I don't think many people supported the Muslim Brotherhood, they were simply the ones with the organization it took to fill the power vacuum once Mubarak was ousted.

And yes, it's sad. I've known a lot of people there online and they deserve much better than they're going to get.

[savalez]

9. Hmmm.

So you think the military will oust Morsi?

[Warpy]

12. He handed them an ultimatum. Publicly.

That wasn't really smart.

[savalez]

13. What do you think

will happen in the end?

On edit: I see that you already stated your prediction earlier in the thread

I don't know what to say. I hope it's not going to be as bad as I think it's going to be.

[Warpy]

15. What I think is utterly irrelevant

but I hope it won't be that bad, too. I'm just afraid it will be.

[savalez]

18. Me too. n/t

[Posteritatis]

17. There isn't really any other option when the military threatens to seize power

He couldn't exactly say "okay, you guys are in charge again."

[bunnies]

14. From the article:

With the clock ticking on the military's ultimatum, many in the anti-Morsi and pro-Morsi camps were vowing to fight to the end.

The president's Islamist backers have stepped up warnings that it will take bloodshed to dislodge him, saying they would rather die fighting a military takeover than accept Morsi's ouster just a year after the country's first free election.

Scary shit. I hope your friends will be safe.

[Comrade Grumpy]

20. Who is going to slaughter everybody in the square?

Not the military.

Not the police. Who have been conspicuous by their absence.

The repressive apparatus of the Mubarek state is playing its own game.

[David__77]

25. Why would they be "slaughtered in the squares." There's no evidence of that at all.

In fact, it's the MB buildings being burned, not the liberal parties' buildings. If Morsi stays in power, people will demonstrate to their heart's content, but it won't matter. Just like in the West...

[bbernardini]

3. Watching this live feed...

#action=share

I don't speak the language, so I haven't a clue what's going on, but there's fireworks, so they've got that going for them...

[onehandle]

7. May he rest in peace. nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Delivering an address on TV

but I can't yet find one with translation.

It's on Al Jazeera English in the UK, but I can't find it on their website yet.

[geek tragedy]

10. seething Islamists vs military seems to be a thing in the Arab world these days.

Who are we rooting for here?

[Comrade Grumpy]

22. Hmm, a military coup or a democratically-elected president...

It shouldn't be a tough call if it comes down to that.

Morsi himself concedes he has made mistakes, but he won the elections.

I think the double opposition--the liberals and old regime--have been determined from the get-go to make his government a failure. They have succeeded, with some help from him. They've been willing to drag down the economy and encourage street thuggery to do so. Funny, the economy and public safety are some of the biggest complaints against the Morsi government.

I think we should be rooting for a compromise solution. Maybe new elections in a few months. I fear for Egypt if there is no compromise. I don't think the Brothers will stand quietly by and watch 80 years of political struggle turn to shit.

[7962]

29. Well, we've already seen some seething Islamists in Syria

beheading a Catholic priest in front of a cheering crowd, so they dont have my vote!

[Incitatus]

11. cabinet members jumping ship

"More of Morsi's cabinet and advisers resigned on Tuesday, with foreign minister Mohamed Kamel Amr following five others out of the door.

The president also lost the support of Sami Enan, his military adviser, who resigned and said the army would not "abandon the will of the people"."...


http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/20137215593626253.html

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Live with translation of speech:

http://www.aljazeera.com/watch_now/

Guardian has picked out so far:

Morsi blames Mubarak cronies and foreign influences for Egypt's troubles.

"The remnants of the former regime and their lack of desire to move forward and attempts to keep Egypt at a standstill – this is all unacceptable," he says

Morsi says he's not clinging to power, that he's not known for that. But he was elected by the people in fair elections, a constitution was drafted and a government is in place, he says. It would be wrong to throw out the "democratic" precedent, he says.

He says that a legitimate government is in place. Then he makes a series of defiant statements:

I have no other option. I have shouldered the responsibility. I will continue shouldering the responsibility.

He says he will stand up against "any who attempt to shed a drop of blood, drive a wedge between the people or act in violence."

I will adhere to this legitimacy and I will stand guardian to this legitimacy.

Now he is claiming the mantle of the revolution that removed Mubarak, "the revolution of January 25," saying "don't allow the revolution to be hijacked."

"The price can be my life. My own life. I am willing to safeguard and protect your lives."

Morsi continues speaking. He so far has blamed the violence on remnants of the former regime, claimed the mantle of the revolution and vowed to give his life to defend a "legitimate" government.

[demosincebirth]

19. I see the same thing happening in Egypt, that happened in Algeria. We all, or some of us,

remember why that coup d'etat happened. Same senario in Egypt.

[Comrade Grumpy]

21. And that coup in Algeria led to ghastly civil war.

[David__77]

32. I don't think the Algerian coup caused the civil war.

I think the situation was such that the war could not have been avoided.

[Xolodno]

23. Lets hope the military does the humane thing...

....surround wherever he's holed up in, cut the water, electricity, etc. And just wait him out. Meanwhile set elections and move forward. He can stay and guarantee no influence in the next election or realize he lost and attempt to rally, albeit probably with less gains in the next election. It will be up to him and his allies to decide if there will be bloodshed....and given the resignations, don't think he has the clout to do that either.

[David__77]

26. Why do you support a coup against the elected president?

Just curious. He has already been elected, so why should another election be held? Should he, in your opinion, be excluded from that election? If so, on what basis?

[Xolodno]

33. Mishandling of the country

....and its only a "coup" if a group takes control AND holds on to power.

He was elected to end a dictatorship, help put in a viable constitution, unite and further the country. Not pull a George W Bush and assume that because he won he could further his aims and party unchecked.

The military didn't stand by Mubarak because he was a dictator and now they aren't standing by Mursi because he's trying to solidify power to become a dictator.

Young democracies are fragile things....I remember watching a special on Putin's second term and election...one of his "campaign" managers said "Russia has only known Dictators and Tsar's...which is a dictator, democracy won't work here yet". I wouldn't be surprised he's thinking the same thing...However, unlike Mubarak, who probably thought he was doing the country a favor by keeping extremism at bay....he thinks bringing the country closer to an Islamic Theocracy is doing the country a favor. "He has political capital and is going to spend it".

[David__77]

34. "its only a "coup" if a group takes control AND holds on to power" (?!)

That part of your analysis, I must disagree with. The overthrow of the existing order is a coup. I'm not saying coups are always bad things. The Portuguese coup of 1974 was good, and there have been others that were good. But they were coups, even if not permanent.

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. Guardian summary of this evening:

• President Mohamed Morsi delivered a defiant televised speech at midnight Tuesday declaring his willingness to give his life to defend governmental "legitimacy." He did not speak directly to an army ultimatum for him to cut a political deal by Wednesday afternoon, but earlier he dismissed the ultimatum in a tweet. The speech appeared to set the Morsi government and the Muslim Brotherhood on a collision course with the military and opposition.

• An official death toll Tuesday evening from Cairo clashes put the number killed at seven, but that figure was expected to rise, perhaps substantially. Hundreds were injured as opposition forces and Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi supporters battled with live gunfire and other weapons. Main sites of conflict were Cairo University and Kitkat Square in Giza.

• For a third straight day dueling protests materialized across the country, with numbers in Tahrir Square swelling after what at the start looked to be a quieter day for demonstrations.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2013/jul/02/egypt-obama-urges-morsi-to-respond-to-protesters-live#block-51d359c6e4b01fd5ba7fbcc8

[htuttle]

27. The Egyptian Army is the most heavily armed kitchen appliance manufacturer in the world

Here's an article from shortly before Mubarak was forced out of office that's enlightening in regards to the motivations of the Egyptian army, and especially interesting in hindsight.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/10/133501837/why-egypts-military-cares-about-home-appliances

No one knows for sure how many resort hotels or other businesses in Egypt are run by the military, which controls somewhere between 5 percent and 40 percent of the nation's economy, according to various estimates. Whatever the number, Springborg says, officers in the Egyptian military are making "billions and billions and billions" of dollars.

These billions would be threatened if the protests devolved into full-on civil conflict. People in the middle of violent political chaos don't buy dishwashers.

"The military wants stability above all," Springborg says. "It's not focused on war fighting; it's focused on consumption."

....

The military would almost certainly go along with a successor, the cable's author writes, if that successor didn't interfere in the military's business arrangements. But, the cable continues, "in a messier succession scenario, it becomes more difficult to predict the military's actions."

[7962]

30. Which I guess is one reason we still give money to them.

Best bet for stability. Otherwise, as I mentioned in another thread, it could turn into another Syria

[Ash_F]

28. Don't like the outcome of an election? Kill your opposition!

We know teabaggers fantasize about it.

[Hooray for Pepe]

31. Which outcome of which election?

Didn't Morsi win the elections?

[Ash_F]

36. Yes...

No offense, but was that a real question?

Leader is elected -> Military threatens coup per the article

My statement made perfect sense in that context.

[Locut0s]

35. Another military coup? I don't know about that...

As much as I think the Morsi may not be good for the country he was democratically elected. The first coup was the overthrow of a dictatorship. If this coup happens it will be the overthrow of a democratically elected government. It IS complicated by the fact that he could potentially become a dictator and a theocratic one at that. But I'm not sure we are there yet. Having a military junta in power is not a safe thing, bad things lie that way historically.