Forces take up position in Cairo
Source: Agencies |
July 4, 2013, Thursday
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Egypt's armed forces and embattled President Mohammed Morsi refused to back down yesterday as a deadline for a military takeover passed with rival demonstrators out in force in the streets of Cairo.
Military chiefs, vowing to restore order in a country racked by protests over Morsi's Islamist policies, issued a call to battle in a statement headlined "The Final Hours." They said they were willing to shed blood against "terrorists and fools" after Morsi refused to give up his elected office.
Meanwhile, airport officials in Egypt said a travel ban has been issued against Morsi and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The officials said the ban on Morsi has to do with his escape from prison with more than 30 other Muslim Brotherhood during the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak.
Also banned from travel is Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie and his deputy Khairat el-Shater. The opposition accuses them of calling all the shots during Morsi's year in power.
Armored vehicles took up position outside the state broadcasting headquarters on the Nile River bank yesterday, where soldiers patrolled the corridors and non-essential staff were sent home. But there was no other immediate sign of military action to remove the Muslim Brotherhood president.
In a last-ditch statement a few minutes before the 5pm deadline, Morsi's office said a coalition government could be part of an initiative to overcome a political crisis. But opposition parties refused to negotiate with him and met instead with the commander of the armed forces.
As the ultimatum expired, thousands of anti-Morsi protesters in Tahrir Square in central Cairo let off fireworks, cheered and waved Egyptian flags in celebration.
There was no immediate word from the armed forces.
Egypt has remained in turmoil since the fall of Mubarak in early 2011, arousing concern among allies in the West and in Israel, with which Egypt has a 1979 peace treaty.
Less than three hours before the deadline for Morsi to agree to share power or make way for an army-imposed solution, Ayman Ali, the president's spokesman, said: "It is better for a president, who would otherwise be returning Egypt to the days of dictatorship, from which God and the will of the people has saved us, to die standing like a tree rather than be condemned by history and future generations for throwing away the hopes of Egyptians for establishing a democratic life."
Earlier, in an emotional, rambling midnight television address, Morsi said he was democratically elected and would stay in office to uphold the constitutional order, declaring: "The price of preserving legitimacy is my life."
Liberal opponents said it showed he had "lost his mind."
The official spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood movement said supporters were willing to become martyrs to defend Morsi.
"There is only one thing we can do: we will stand in between the tanks and the president," Gehad El-Haddad told reporters at the movement's protest encampment in a Cairo suburb that houses many military installations and is near the presidential palace.
"We will not allow the will of the Egyptian people to be bullied again by the military machine."
Military chiefs, vowing to restore order in a country racked by protests over Morsi's Islamist policies, issued a call to battle in a statement headlined "The Final Hours." They said they were willing to shed blood against "terrorists and fools" after Morsi refused to give up his elected office.
Meanwhile, airport officials in Egypt said a travel ban has been issued against Morsi and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The officials said the ban on Morsi has to do with his escape from prison with more than 30 other Muslim Brotherhood during the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak.
Also banned from travel is Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie and his deputy Khairat el-Shater. The opposition accuses them of calling all the shots during Morsi's year in power.
Armored vehicles took up position outside the state broadcasting headquarters on the Nile River bank yesterday, where soldiers patrolled the corridors and non-essential staff were sent home. But there was no other immediate sign of military action to remove the Muslim Brotherhood president.
In a last-ditch statement a few minutes before the 5pm deadline, Morsi's office said a coalition government could be part of an initiative to overcome a political crisis. But opposition parties refused to negotiate with him and met instead with the commander of the armed forces.
As the ultimatum expired, thousands of anti-Morsi protesters in Tahrir Square in central Cairo let off fireworks, cheered and waved Egyptian flags in celebration.
There was no immediate word from the armed forces.
Egypt has remained in turmoil since the fall of Mubarak in early 2011, arousing concern among allies in the West and in Israel, with which Egypt has a 1979 peace treaty.
Less than three hours before the deadline for Morsi to agree to share power or make way for an army-imposed solution, Ayman Ali, the president's spokesman, said: "It is better for a president, who would otherwise be returning Egypt to the days of dictatorship, from which God and the will of the people has saved us, to die standing like a tree rather than be condemned by history and future generations for throwing away the hopes of Egyptians for establishing a democratic life."
Earlier, in an emotional, rambling midnight television address, Morsi said he was democratically elected and would stay in office to uphold the constitutional order, declaring: "The price of preserving legitimacy is my life."
Liberal opponents said it showed he had "lost his mind."
The official spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood movement said supporters were willing to become martyrs to defend Morsi.
"There is only one thing we can do: we will stand in between the tanks and the president," Gehad El-Haddad told reporters at the movement's protest encampment in a Cairo suburb that houses many military installations and is near the presidential palace.
"We will not allow the will of the Egyptian people to be bullied again by the military machine."
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