标题: [转帖] BBC:Egypt tense as army deadline for President Morsi looms [打印本页] 作者: 三苗 时间: 2013-7-3 19:15 标题: BBC:Egypt tense as army deadline for President Morsi looms
3 July 2013 Last updated at 10:43 GMT
Tensions are high in Egypt as an army deadline for President Mohammed Morsi to resolve deadly unrest approaches.
Clashes broke out at rival protests across the country overnight, with at least 16 pro-Morsi protesters killed at a demonstration at Cairo University.
Senior army commanders are in talks in Cairo, after saying they were ready to shed blood to defend Egypt against "any terrorist, radical or fool".
Mr Morsi insists he is Egypt's legitimate leader and will not resign.
In a defiant televised speech on Tuesday evening, he too said he would give his life to defend constitutional legitimacy, and blamed the unrest on corruption and remnants of the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak.
Calling for protesters to respect the rule of law, he urged the establishment of a committee of reconciliation as well as a charter of ethics for the media, and said he was prepared to meet all groups and individuals as part of a national dialogue process.
'Terrorists and fools'
The army has given a deadline of about 16:30 local time (14:30 GMT) on Wednesday for the crisis to be dealt with.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page after Mr Morsi's speech was broadcast - under the title, "Final Hours" - it said: "We swear to God that we will sacrifice even our blood for Egypt and its people, to defend them against any terrorist, radical or fool." Continue reading the main story At the scene Rana Jawad BBC News, Cairo
Some are busily going about their normal day today, others will be protesting again - but many will be holding their breath.
Some of the headlines in the morning papers reflect the overwhelming mood here, with bold lines like "The collapse of the Brotherhood" and "The return of Egypt in a few hours". Others wonder what will happen next: "Army Deadline Ticking Down as Hopes Dim for Way Out" says the Egyptian Gazette.
President Morsi, the wider Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters are up against two formidable opponents - the wider public still taking to the streets in large numbers and the army.
The military's deadline is fast approaching. How the army handles this is key to how it will all play out as both sides dig in their heels with no signs of a compromise on the horizon.
Media reports say the army's plan includes the outline for new presidential elections, the suspension of the new constitution and the dissolution of parliament.
However one military source told Reuters news agency those reports were not true, and that the deadline would mark the beginning of talks about what should be done next.
On Wednesday, a defence ministry official said army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi - who had held talks with Mr Morsi earlier in the week - was meeting his top commanders as the deadline approached.
But a spokesman for Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood party said the army had no right to offer a roadmap.
"A roadmap is something that the constitution outlines and the president directs. It's not the role of the military," said Gehad el-Haddad.
He said the Brotherhood was open to any solution, but that it had to be through "representatives of the people", and proposed speeding through parliamentary elections.
"If the protests on the street prove anything they prove the people of Egypt are ready to have their say. They can sweep the parliamentary election, impeach the president, change the constitution and set the roadmap that they want, but it has to be the right of the people."
Military sources earlier told the BBC the president's position was becoming "weaker" with every passing minute and suggested that, under the draft plan, he could be replaced by a council of cross-party civilians and technocrats ahead of new elections.
The president was put under further pressure by the resignation of six ministers from his government on Monday, including Foreign Minister Kamel Amr.
Mr Morsi became Egypt's first Islamist president on 30 June 2012, after winning an election considered free and fair following the 2011 revolution that toppled Mubarak. Continue reading the main story Tamarod (Rebel)
The Tamarod movement says more than 22 million people have signed a petition complaining that:
Security has not been restored since the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak
The poor "have no place" in society
The government has had to "beg" the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.8bn (£3.17bn) loan to help shore up the public finances
There has been "no justice" for people killed by security forces during the uprising and at anti-government protests since then
"No dignity is left" for Egyptians or their country
The economy has "collapsed", with growth poor and inflation high
But dissent has been growing, with protesters angry at the lack of development in post-revolution Egypt and accusing the Brotherhood of trying to protect its own interests and pushing an Islamist agenda.
"This is a president threatening his own people. We don't consider him the president of Egypt," said Mohammed Abdelaziz, a leader of the Tamarod (Rebel) campaign, a rapidly growing anti-Morsi opposition movement.
However, Mr Morsi and the Brotherhood still have significant public support, and both sides have drawn huge numbers to rallies in recent days.
Thousands gathered in Tahrir Square in central Cairo on Tuesday afternoon to demand Mr Morsi step down. There were outbreaks of violence in several parts of the capital, with casualties reported at hospitals in the north, south and centre of Cairo.
In the largest bout of unrest, at least 16 people were killed and about 200 wounded at Cairo University in Giza. Eyewitness Mostafa Abdelnasser told AFP that Morsi supporters had come under attack from unidentified men carrying firearms.
Clashes were also reported in Alexandria, Egypt's second city, on Tuesday.
Crowds began gathering in Tahrir Square again on Wednesday morning, with numbers expected to rise throughout the day.
On Monday, eight people died as activists stormed and ransacked the Muslim Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters.
In the wake of the latest unrest, the UK Foreign Office has changed its travel advice for Egypt, recommending against all but essential travel to the country except for resorts on the Red Sea in South Sinai and in the Red Sea governorate.
The instability has also hit global oil prices, sending US light crude above $100 a barrel for the first time since September last year, amid concerns supply routes through the Suez Canal could be affected.
Rana Jawad BBC News, Cairo 
