CAIRO: Egypt was thrown into fresh turmoil yesterday when President Mohamed Mursi’s aides said that he would not give in to the threat of a military coup hours after the army gave him two days to placate the millions who have taken to the streets calling for his departure.
The head of the armed forces, General Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, threatened direct military involvement in the political process “if the demands of the people are not realised”, in a statement implying that Mursi should either step down or call early elections.
The presidency said that it viewed the statement as a coup d’etat. “Obviously we feel this is a military coup,” an aide said. “But the conviction within the presidency is that [the coup] won’t be able to move forward without American approval.”
According to a statement on the president’s Facebook page, Mursi met Al Sisi along with the prime minister late yesterday.
The aide’s comments implied that the presidency was hopeful of continued US support. They also suggested the presidency was banking on the likelihood that the military would not risk upsetting the US, which provides it with significant funding.
The US president, Barack Obama, meanwhile, said that Mursi had not yet lost his backing.
“We don’t make those decisions just by counting the number of heads in a protest march but we do make decisions based on whether or not a government is listening to the opposition, maintaining a free press, maintaining freedom of assembly, not using violence or intimidation, conducting fair and free elections,” he said.
But in Egypt, events suggested the tide had turned, with 10 ministers resigning and the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Mursi hails, burnt and ransacked in an all-night siege.
As evening approached, Tahrir Square was a scene of jubilation as the possibility of renewed military involvement in politics was greeted enthusiastically by many protesters, who have lost trust in the presidency and its opposition.
The National Salvation Front, the largest opposition grouping, greeted the announcement, hoping that it may pave the way for their greater involvement in government. The bloc said it would not hold talks with Mursi.
Many hope the army will set up an interim technocratic cabinet to supervise the rewriting of divisive Islamist-slanted constitution, whose drafting Mursi forced through last November, and new presidential poll. AGENCIES
