Egypt’s military gives Morsi 2 days to calm nation

CAIRO — In a step that could lead to the removal of Egypt’s first freely elected president, the military announced Monday that it would intervene in two days if President Mohamed Morsi and the opposition failed to end the political unrest that threatens the nation’s economy and security.

The military said it did not want to govern but signaled to Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement that it was exasperated by the turmoil. Morsi’s possible ouster would be a strategic blow to Islamist parties that have risen across the region in the aftermath of the “Arab Spring.” Once outlawed, the Muslim Brotherhood has become one of the most formidable and mimicked Muslim organizations in the world.

The army ruled Egypt after the February 2011 overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak until Morsi’s inauguration a year ago. Its tenure was marred by torture and restrictions on civil liberties. But Morsi’s failure to stem the country’s multiplying ills, which also include rising crime and power outages, has in recent weeks led to louder calls for a coup.

The army gave a similar warning days before it forced Mubarak to resign. And, like the former autocrat, Morsi has been left with few options. The opposition has rebuffed him and millions of demonstrators are marching to bring him down.

“The armed forces are warning that if the demands of the people are not fulfilled ... [it] will announce a future road map and procedures that it will supervise,” said the statement, read on national television and endorsed by Gen. Abdel Fattah Sisi, defense minister and chief of the armed forces.

Sisi stressed that the military was not seeking to return to political life but rather to form a more inclusive civilian government: “The Egyptian armed forces will not become involved in politics or administration. It is satisfied with its role as is spelled out” in a democracy.

Morsi’s office issued a statement early Tuesday saying a “modern democratic state” was one of the main achievements of the anti-Mubarak revolution, the Associated Press reported. The statement added, “With all its force, Egypt will not allow itself to be taken backward.”

But by late Monday, members of Morsi’s government were abandoning him; the ministers of tourism, environment, parliamentary affairs and communications resigned. The Interior Ministry, one of Morsi’s most potent adversaries, announced that it supported the military’s statement.

The possibility of the Muslim Brotherhood’s defeat would call into question its political skills during a troubled transition from a grass-roots opposition group to the ruling force in government. It would also cast doubt on the relevance of the Brotherhood’s brand of political Islam at a time when the Arab world is overwhelmed by economic and social pressures.

The military’s statement appeared to highlight those realities: “The armed forces repeats the invitation to fulfill the demands of the people and gives everyone 48 hours as a last chance to begin bearing the burdens of this historic circumstance.”

Millions of anti-Morsi protesters have surged through cities across the country since Sunday. Sixteen people have been killed and more than 800 injured in recent days of clashes between Islamists and antigovernment protesters. Dozens of Muslim Brotherhood offices have been attacked, including its headquarters in Cairo, where eight people died.

Given the country’s mayhem and political gridlock, the military’s “best interest is [to have] Morsi not in the picture anymore,” said Ziad Akl, an analyst at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. “This is the language of someone not giving you any options.... It’s the military’s golden opportunity to preserve its interests.”

That gamble is likely to infuriate Islamists and possibly incite factional bloodshed. Morsi’s supporters claim remnants of Mubarak’s government and politically inept opposition leaders — many of whom have little public support — have instigated anarchy to force the military to act against a democratically elected president.

Some activists and opposition figures were trying Monday to reconcile their tacit support of a new military intervention when more than a year ago they were protesting against detentions and suppressed freedoms during the army’s control of the country.

The opposition Popular Current party “saluted the great Egyptian army” and was glad the military vowed it “would not be party in any political circle or rule.”

Morsi’s relationship with the military has been a mix of courtship and intrigue. The army has long mistrusted Islamists — it had helped persecute the Brotherhood since the 1950s — but it ultimately accepted Morsi’s election. With help from young officers, Morsi staged one of the boldest acts of his presidency when he fired Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the armed forces and a Mubarak confidant.

He replaced him with Sisi, the former head of military intelligence. Morsi pushed through a constitution that permitted the military wide autonomy. The army, in turn, stood by Morsi during months of deadly unrest. But the latest protests have threatened the stability of the country at a time when it seems to be fragmenting and Cairo is negotiating a desperately needed $4.8-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

The economic crunch of the last two years has not only hurt tourism and the poor and working class but also the military’s private business empire, which has been estimated to account for about 10% of Egypt’s gross domestic product.

The military feared more turmoil after a key opposition movement, known as Rebel, said it would start a nationwide civil disobedience campaign if Morsi did not abdicate. The group, which collected 22 million signatures on petitions against the president, called for “the peaceful end of power of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

The Brotherhood has been blamed for authoritarianism and pursuing its Islamist agenda while not addressing poverty, power outages, plummeting foreign reserves, rising crime and nascent sectarianism.

Cars with cameras pointed out of windows rolled past the charred rubble and smashed windows of the Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters, which was spray-painted with the slogan “Leave, you sheep.”

A few police stood guard and a tea vendor took advantage of the small crowd.

“The Brotherhood has promised it would do things but nothing has been done,” said Abdelrahman Yousry, a high school student standing in front of the charred headquarters. “There’s no security, no clean streets, no jobs. Morsi has failed at everything. He increased the crises and has used religion to divide the Egyptian people.”

His friend, Mohamed Sayed Ibrahim, said, “If Morsi stays in power any longer, he’ll ruin the country.”

jeffrey.fleishman@latimes.com

Hassieb is a special correspondent.