Egypt Army Issues Ultimatum
Defense Minister Says Forces Will Intervene if Morsi Fails to Resolve Conflict
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Raw Video: Anti-Morsi protesters storm the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters in Cairo. July 01, 2013. Photo: AP
CAIRO—The leaders of Egypt's military warned they would intervene in the country's political crisis if President Mohammed Morsi fails to resolve it within 48 hours, raising the prospect of a military takeover just one day after millions of Egyptians marched to demand the president's resignation.
"If the people's demands are not met, the military, which is forced to act according to its role and duty, will have to disclose its own future plan," said Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, Egypt's defense minister and the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, in a televised address. "These steps will include discussions between all political powers, specifically the youth, who were and continue to be the spark of the revolution. No one party will be excluded or marginalized."
The ultimatum ratcheted up pressure on Egypt's first elected president, one year after he assumed power in elections that the military itself organized. Layers of state support that had encircled Mr. Morsi only weeks earlier quickly began to peel away, as ministers tendered resignations, a top military adviser quit and Egypt's police threw its weight behind the military.
The defense minister's announcement is tantamount to a military coup, a person close to Mr. Morsi said by text message—adding that the military wouldn't have announced such an ultimatum without the blessing of the Obama administration.
The White House and State Department declined to comment on the military's threat of intervention. President Barack Obama said the U.S. doesn't support any particular Egyptian politician. "What is clear right now is that although Mr. Morsi was elected democratically, there's more work to be done to create the conditions in which everybody feels that their voices are heard," Mr. Obama said in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The Egyptian presidency was largely quiet on Monday. But in the early hours Tuesday, in a statement released on its official Facebook FB -0.28% page, the presidency said it was committed to a civil state and said Egypt's people won't accept a return to military rule.
Protests Grip Egypt
Khalil Hamra/Associated Press
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A protesters jumped over debris at the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters Monday.
"The statement issued by the General of the armed forces, which carries connotations that can cause confusion for the public, was not reviewed by the presidency," the statement read.
A coalition of Islamist parties, which includes members of the Muslim Brotherhood, called on members to join pro-government protests on Tuesday and asked the Egyptian people to respect the legitimacy of the elected president and the constitution.
But in a clear break with the presidency, the spokesman of the Salafist Nour Party announced over his Facebook page early Tuesday morning that it supported early elections alongside the Salafi Call, the party's parent organization. The Nour Party was once among Mr. Morsi's strongest supporters but has broken from him in recent months, citing his inability to fix the country's woes.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters celebrated the military's decision in Tahrir Square in central Cairo and near the president's Ittihadiya Palace, where they regrouped a day after protests that had appeared to be some of Egypt's largest ever. They cheered again minutes after Gen. Al Sisi's speech ended, as five military helicopters flew over the protests, carrying large banners representing each branch of the armed forces.
WSJ reporter Matt Bradley reports from Cairo on a second day of massive demonstrations. Opponents of president Mohammed Morsi have set a Tuesday 5:00 PM deadline for him to step down. Photo: AP
Mr. Morsi lost support on several fronts Monday—echoing the defections that then-President Hosni Mubarak suffered in his final days more than two years earlier. While Mr. Mubarak lost support over several weeks, Mr. Morsi's losses came in hours.
Sami Enan, a retired general in the armed forces who once enjoyed close relations with Washington, resigned from his post as Mr. Morsi's military adviser, a move he announced during a phone call with Al Hayat, a privately owned satellite channel.
At least four of Mr. Morsi's cabinet ministers also tendered resignations. The president and prime minister said they declined to accept them, Khaled Fahmy, Egypt's environment minister, told Al Arabiya TV.
On Monday evening, Egypt's ministry of interior, which controls the country's police force, issued a statement supporting the military's decision. The police force "is renewing its commitment to protect the people and the vital institutions of the country, and to ensure the security of the protesters, confirming that it will be under the service of the people, and that it will stand at an equal distance from all the different groups and entities without taking sides," it said.
On Monday morning, eight people were killed in Cairo as rioters ransacked the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mr. Morsi's power base, Egypt's state news agency said. The headquarters of Al Wasat, a moderate Islamist party aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, was attacked by firebombs, local media reported.
Gen. Al Sisi, in his address, didn't say what kind of "solution" he expected Mr. Morsi to provide or say what he planned by way of an "intervention."
But the general cautioned that the military wouldn't become politically involved as it did in February 2011, when it assumed power after Mr. Mubarak's overthrow. Instead, Gen. Al Sisi said the armed forces would continue to "supervise the situation" and "support the people."
The military issued a second statement on Monday evening emphasizing that it wasn't launching a military coup against the president, but was instead pushing opposing political groups toward reconciliation.
Members of the political opposition—many of whom had said they didn't welcome military intervention—rejected negotiations and greeted the ultimatum as a sign that the military intended to oversee the president's departure.
"When you praise the demands of the people and then declare 48 hours, I think that the message is clear," said Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the National Salvation Front, an umbrella group that helped lead Sunday's protests. "I hope that the Muslim Brotherhood doesn't mess it up."
Leaders of Tamarod, the petition campaign that also helped plan Sunday's protests, announced in a news conference that they welcomed the military's statements, and called for further protests Tuesday.
For Egypt's military, an institution that has enjoyed decades of power but has been scarred by its last foray into Egypt's tumultuous politics, the move is a high-stakes gamble.
In February 2011, the military's Supreme Council assumed power after protests forced Mr. Mubarak from office.
The military's 16 months in leadership were marred by repeated street protests, political confusion and economic degradation.
The public dissatisfaction was a major blow to an institution that had enjoyed prestige and privileged status in Egypt since the country's last revolution in 1952. Mr. Morsi is the first Egyptian president in 60 years who didn't hail from a military background.
But with their stated commitment to stay at arm's length from the messy game of politics, the armed forces looks determined to make amends.
"It's as if the military is saying, 'Well, we didn't get it right the first time, but we're going to have another go at it'," said Robert Springborg, a professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School and an expert on the Egyptian military.
But this time around, the generals will have to play within a tighter set of rules. Unlike in 2011, when the military waived the constitution, the Islamist-drafted charter that Mr. Morsi pushed through late last year remains the law of the land.
Violating that document could put senior officers at risk of prosecution. Yet if Mr. Morsi and his opponents fail to resolve their differences before the military's own deadline, the generals may be forced to act outside the law.
"Issuing an ultimatum like that is so dangerous," said Shana Marshall, an associate director at George Washington University's Institute for Middle East Studies. "If the Morsi government hasn't taken some sort of really serious action within 48 hours, the military has to do something or they lose all their legitimacy and authority in the eyes of the public."
All of this pressure falls on the man who made Monday's announcement, Gen. Al Sisi. As Mr. Morsi's chosen defense minister, Gen. Al Sisi will be at pains to demonstrate that he functions independently of Mr. Morsi and his Islamist supporters.
"Gen. Al Sisi has his critics within the military [who say] he's been too soft on the Brothers," said Mr. Springborg. "I think Al Sisi is not only trying to save the nation, he's trying to save himself."
Write to Matt Bradley at matt.bradley@dowjones.com
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