Egypt: Morsi Denounces Army ultimatum as Crisis Looms

By Staff Writer

CAIRO--Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has rejected a 48-hour Ultimatum set by the army on Monday requiring him to resolve the country’s worsening crisis or else it would intervene.

A presidential statement on Tuesday says, Mr Morsi was not consulted ahead of the ultimatum and therefore he denounces “any declaration that would deepen division or threaten social peace” in the country. It added that Mors iwas determined to stick to his “national reconciliation” plan.

"The civil democratic Egyptian state is one of the most important achievements of the January 25 revolution," the statement continued, referring to the 2011 uprising that toppled former ruler Hosni Mubarak.

The army on Monday said it will intervene if the government and its opponents fail to heed “the will of the people.”President Morsi's opponents accuse him of putting interestsof ruling Muslim Brotherhood party, ahead of the country's as a whole.

Millions of Egyptians across the country took to the streets on Sunday, through Monday evening, calling for Morsi’s resignation, in protests called by supporters of the opposition movement, Tamarod (Rebel).

While making the announcement, televised on Egyptian national TV Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, defence minister and head of the armed forces, described the protests as an "unprecedented" expression of popular anger against Morsi.

He called on Egyptian politicians to “meet the demands of the people” within 48 hours or the army would be forced to “announce a road map for the future and the steps for overseeing its implementation”.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered at Cairo’s symbolic Tahrir Square on Monday night welcomed the military ultimatum, while others cheered, honked their car horns and waved national flags along streets of the capital.

The army in has said it would not get involved in politics or government, denying that the ultimatum amounts to a coup.

Tamarod’s call for Morsi’s resignation came as protesters stormed the headquarters of Brotherhood in Cairo on Monday morning, burning the premises and looting office supplies in the course of a long siege that left at least eight people dead.

It had given Mr Morsi until Tuesday afternoon to step down and call for fresh presidential polls, or else face a wave of civil unrest.

Morsi’s Brotherhood party has said it will rally its supporters in streets and squares in solidarity of their president.

"Any coup of any sort will only pass over our dead bodies," said Muhammad al-Biltaji, a senior Brotherhood figure, while addressing thousands gathered outside the Rab'ah al-Adawiyah mosque in Cairo's Nasr district.

Morsi faces one of his wildest unrests that would force him exit from power barely a year since he was elected on June 30 last year in Egypt’s landmark election considered free and fair. He became Egypt's first Islamist president following the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

US President Barack Obama who is on tour of Africa has called Morsi to respond to the protesters concerns, saying the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process.