Opposition protesters are
threatening to march Tuesday evening on Cairo's presidential palace if
Morsy does not step down by then.
And Wednesday evening
marks the expiration of a 48-hour deadline imposed by the Egypt's
military to "meet the demands of the people" or face a restoration of
order by the army.
But the army stopped short of saying that it was suggesting a coup.
The ultimatum was meant
to push all factions toward a national consensus; the armed forces
aren't looking to be part of the political or ruling circles, a
spokesman, Col. Ahmed Ali, said Monday in a written statement.
Photos: Protests in Egypt
Military stance pleases anti-Morsy camp
Military announcement excites protesters
While insisting they want
no direct role in national politics, the generals appeared instead to
be pressuring Egypt's first freely elected president to restructure his
government.
The steps could include
reducing the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in his Cabinet and
calling early presidential and parliamentary elections, a source close
to highly placed members of Egypt's leadership told CNN.
Thousands still demonstrating
Demonstrations continued
Tuesday in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where thousands of protesters massed,
cheering as Apache helicopters buzzed the crowd.
Canada said Tuesday it was closing its embassy in Cairo until further notice "for security reasons."
On Monday, U.S.
President Barack Obama encouraged Morsy in a telephone call to ensure
that his government represents all Egyptians, "including the many
Egyptians demonstrating."
"President Obama
encouraged President Morsy to take steps to show that he is responsive
to their concerns, and underscored that the current crisis can only be
resolved through a political process," the White House said in a
statement early Tuesday.
Morsy's government has insisted that its decisions are legitimate, because it was democratically elected.
Obama addressed this argument directly in his conversation with Morsy.
"He stressed that democracy is about more than elections," the statement said.
Obama reiterated to
Morsy that the United States does not support any party or movement in
Egypt, it said. He called for an end to violence on all sides and
expressed particular concern about sexual assaults on women.
State-funded Egyptian
daily Al-Ahram has reported 46 sexual assaults during anti-Morsy
protests in Egypt since Sunday, citing the volunteer group Operation
Anti-Sexual Harassment.
A Dutch journalist was
reportedly raped Friday while covering protests, the Committee to
Protect Journalists said. She was hospitalized and underwent surgery
before flying back to the Netherlands.
Interactive map: Explore the locations of protests in Cairo, Egypt. Photos: AFP/Getty Images
Over the weekend, an
Egyptian journalist died in a bomb attack on a Muslim Brotherhood
office; four other local journalists were beaten and their camera
equipment destroyed or stolen. Two Egyptian journalists were wounded by
shotgun fire.
Monday Tahrir celebration
Protesters in Tahrir
Square cheered the military statement as it was read over radios and
cell phones Monday. They roared as military helicopters passed overhead
at dusk, trailing Egyptian flags and the banners of the
armed services. After nightfall, they waved flags, honked horns and set
off fireworks.
"Everyone is talking as
if Morsy is officially out of power and the Brotherhood is officially
out of power, and everyone is celebrating," Bassem Sabry, an Egyptian
writer who took part in Monday's protests, told CNN's "Connect the
World."
But Morsy's office early
Tuesday called the democratically elected government the most important
achievement of his nation's revolution, adding, "Egypt, by all its
power, will not allow the country to go backwards under any
circumstances."
Morsy's supporters held smaller rallies Monday in Cairo neighborhoods away from Tahrir Square.
Egypt on the brink of a volcano?
Egyptian protesters want Morsy out
Egyptians disagree over Morsy presidency
In the face of the
anti-government protests, which began over the weekend, five ministers
announced their resignations Monday. The latest was Foreign Minister
Mohamed Kamel Amr, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency reported.
Morsy's failings
Morsy, a U.S.-educated
Islamist, was elected Egypt's president in June 2012, but critics say he
has become increasingly authoritarian during his year in power.
And he has failed to
revive Egypt's economy, which crashed when the 2011 uprising that
toppled longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak drove tourists away.
That has disaffected
many of his supporters among Egypt's poor and middle classes, said Fawaz
Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of
Economics.
"That some of the
revolutionaries are calling on the army to return to politics is a
testament to how polarized Egypt is a year after the election of Morsy,"
Gerges said. "Think of the millions of people who cheered Morsy after
his election. Think of the millions of Egyptians who pinned their hopes
on Morsy.
"A year later, now, the millions of Egyptians who cheered for Morsy are saying he must go."
Gerges questioned
Morsy's ability to continue to lead but said he doubted the military
would depose him. Such a move "would plunge Egypt into a greater legal,
political and institutional crisis," he said.
The military will want
to see the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood reduced in government and
in the constitution, Gerges said.
Mubarak had long repressed the Islamic political movement, but it is now the nation's most powerful political force.
Divided opposition
The opposition Tamarod
("rebel") campaign has called for nationwide protests, civil
disobedience and a march on the presidential palace if Morsy doesn't
leave office Tuesday.
Demonstrators say they
have collected 17 million signatures -- 4 million more than the number
who voted Morsy into the presidency -- calling for him to go.
The opposition comprises
various groups and loose coalitions, some of which are loyal to the
ousted Mubarak government, while others want the army to intervene.
AbdulMawgoud Dardery, a
former member of parliament and a Muslim Brotherhood representative,
told CNN's "Amanpour" that the military could be an "honest broker" in a
national dialogue. He said Morsy has reached out to opposition leaders
many times, but the opposition "is afraid of democracy."
"It failed in the
previous five elections we had in Egypt since the revolution, and they
don't want to fail a sixth time," he said. "That's why they're going to
street politics."
National security
Opponents blame Morsy's policies for a breakdown in law and order.
Adding to the anger, a gas shortage has Egyptians waiting at pumps for hours.
Monday's military
statement called the crisis a grave threat to national security and
praised the demonstrators as determined and admirable.
"Wasting more time will
only lead to more division and fighting, which we have and continue to
warn against," the military said in its statement.
The developments were being closely watched around the region and in the United States, Egypt's leading ally.
Under Mubarak's rule,
Washington provided tens of billions of dollars in military and economic
aid to Egypt; it has pledged $1 billion to the post-Mubarak government.
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