President Morsi’s Spokesman Claims Military Coup Is Under Way In Egypt

[jessie04]

Source: BUZZFEED

An aide to President Morsi posted a statement to government’s Foreign Relations Facebook page calling what’s happening in Egypt a military coup, stating “I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page.”


As I write these lines I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page.

For the sake of Egypt and for historical accuracy, let’s call what is happening by its real name: Military coup.

It has been two and a half years after a popular revolution against a dictatorship that had strangled and drained Egypt for 30 years.

That revolution restored a sense of hope and fired up Egyptians’ dreams of a future in which they could claim for themselves the same dignity that is every human being’s birthright.

On Januray 25 I stood in Tahrir square. My children stood in protest in Cairo and Alexandria. We stood ready to sacrifice for this revolution. When we did that, we did not support a revolution of elites. And we did not support a conditional democracy. We stood, and we still stand, for a very simple idea: given freedom, we Egyptians can build institutions that allow us to promote and choose among all the different visions for the country. We quickly discovered that almost none of the other actors were willing to extend that idea to include us.


Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikehayes/president-morsi-defiant-as-army-deadline-passes-in-egypt

[shira]

1. With 30 million people this is a popular revolution, not a coup. n/t

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. When the military overthrows the elected government, it's a coup.

No matter how much popular support (mob rule) there is.

Morsi is not only the elected president, despite his faults, he is Egypt's first democratically-elected leader. Deposing him does not bode well for Egyptian democracy or stability.

[jessie04]

13. This really is the People's Revolution.

nt

[David__77]

17. It's a military coup, of course.

It may be a popular one, but the people did not crush the forces of the state; instead, the forces of the state overthrew its government.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Your buddies already gunned down 16 Morsi supporters last night.

http://www.news.com.au/world-news/egypts-army-has-been-deployed-after-gunfire-around-cairo-university-kills-wounds-many/story-fndir2ev-1226673651167

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''Sixteen people have been killed and 200 wounded in an attack on a demonstration supporting President Morsi next to Cairo University,'' state television reported, citing the ministry.

Supporters of embattled President Mohamed Morsi have been demonstrating in the area, as tens of thousands of his political opponents swarm through the city's central square and government districts.

''The aggressors attacked us with firearms,'' one Morsi supporter, Mostafa Abdelnasser, told AFP by telephone, adding that he carried away a man who had been shot in the head.

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[Purveyor]

3. Morsi 'Under Travel Ban', Tanks Deployed In Cairo, Clashes Reported

Edited time: July 03, 2013 16:47

Several hundred Egyptian soldiers, together with armored vehicles, are taking part in a military parade on the road near presidential palace, a witness told Reuters. Live images from Sky News Arabia show army tanks in several Cairo neighborhoods.

National security adviser Essam El-Haddad said that "no military coup can succeed in the face of sizeable popular force without considerable bloodshed." He added that he expects army and police violence to remove pro-Mursi demonstrators from the streets of Cairo.

Military vehicles heading in direction of pro Morsi rally pic.twitter.com/74n7NBWlpc
— Kareem Fahim (@kfahim) July 3, 2013

A presidential aide said in a statement that Morsi is still working at the Republican Guard barracks in Cairo and it is unclear if he is free to leave. He added that Morsi's message to all Egyptians is to resist the military coup peacefully without using violence.

more...


http://rt.com/news/egypt-ultimatum-expires-protest-616/

[Iliyah]

4. Its on!

My gosh . . . .

[DeSwiss]

6. Well, it's not like they didn't ask him to leave nicely.

Sometimes when guests overstay their welcome you just have to bumrush their asses to the door.

- I'm looking at YOU Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches......

K&R

[Babel_17]

7. Morsi’s legitimacy

In November, Morsi issued a constitutional declaration that banned the courts from reviewing any of his decisions. He also barred them from ruling on the legitimacy of the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly drafting the new constitution or the upper house of parliament, which judges were considering whether to dissolve.

He also appointed a new attorney general, Talaat Abdullah, to replace Mahmoud Abdel-Meguid, a Mubarak appointee, in violation of the legal process of such appointments. Morsi’s supporters defended the move as necessary to stop Mubarak-era judges from delaying the democratic process and that Abdel-Maguid showed bias in favor of Mubarak era officials.

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Asked about the decrees Wednesday, Mehrez, the Brotherhood spokesman, pointed out that Morsi later rescinded them. The right of courts to review his decisions was restored, but by that time the constitutional assembly had finished its draft and Abdullah remains in his position, despite a later court ruling calling his appointment illegal, now under appeal.

http://www.salon.com/2013/06/26/at_center_of_egypt_protest_morsis_legitimacy/

He gambled and lost. There's legitimacy to his government but there's legitimacy to the revolution. Popular opinion as weighed by the military decides the day.

[Comrade Grumpy]

9. Who contolled the judiciary? Why did Morsi move against it?

Embedded Mubarek supporters from the old regime. Now, they're going to be back in power. Long live the glorious revolution.

[jessie04]

11. LOL

I guess you dont agree with anyone.

Faace it, the Egyptian people want democracy...not Morsi.

[Comrade Grumpy]

12. Democracy via tanks is an odd democracy.

Egypt has democratic political processes. This is an extra-democratic act. If "the people" wanted Morsi out, they could have voted him out in the next election.

At least you haven't chortled at the prospect of Morsi's murder for a few minutes.

[Babel_17]

16. IIRC the young and the progressive were upset by Morsi's moves

Why weren't they happy with him muzzling the judiciary? I'm guessing some of the Mubarek appointees might not have been total tools and in any case could have been less supportive of strict Islamic law dominating society and government.

The Muslim Brotherhood sort of promised they wouldn't do that but once in power they were not viewed as keeping their word.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. The Muslim Brotherhood had their fun but it's OVER.

[AngryAmish]

10. He kinda has a point there

He was elected. Unfortunately, the MB had no clue how to rule a nation. Most Egyptians with brains emigrated because life under Mubarek sucked. The country is a ruin - it can't feed itself now despite being the granary of the Roman Empire!

The army has attracted smart folks for decades - and they have been trained up pretty good by the US. Not trained on running anything but they have discipline.

Bad things are coming for Egypt. Hopefully the army will grab the canal and then???

[rollin74]

14. Clerics, opposition to unveil Egypt roadmap -MENA

CAIRO, July 3 (Reuters) - Egypt's leading Muslim and Christian clerics and the leader of the liberal opposition alliance Mohamed ElBaradei will jointly present a roadmap for a political transition shortly, state news agency MENA said on Wednesday.

The announcement follows talks with military chiefs who gave President Mohamed Mursi an ultimatum to share power, which has now expired. The generals would be present at the announcement along with members of the Tamarud youth protest movement, MENA said.

The clerics would be the Grand Sheikh of Cairo's Al-Azhar institution, a leading authority in the Muslim world, and Pope Tawadros, the head of the Coptic Church and leader of Egypt's millions of Christians.

http://live.reuters.com/Event/World_News

[NRaleighLiberal]

15. More - from CNN - Morsy "out of the decision making circle"

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/03/world/meast/egypt-protests/index.html

"airo (CNN) -- Egyptian troops deployed around Cairo and the whereabouts of President Mohamed Morsy were uncertain late Wednesday as his supporters said a military coup was under way.

The state-run Middle East News Agency reported Wednesday night that leaders of the country's Muslim and Christian communities would join military leaders and opposition figures to lay out an agreement "to exit the current political crisis." And citing "a senior official source," the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported Wednesday that Morsy "is no longer a part of the decision-making circle."

"The president is no longer able to make any political decisions now and a decision has been taken to prevent leaders loyal to the current regime from traveling overseas until the General Command of the Armed Forces are finished formulating their expected statement," it added.

The report came shortly after a deadline issued by the generals to Egypt's first democratically elected leader expired. At the final hour, Morsy offered to form an interim coalition government "that would manage the upcoming parliamentary electoral process, and the formation of an independent committee for constitutional amendments to submit to the upcoming parliament," Morsy said in a posting on his Facebook page."

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