It has been only a year in office for the democratically elected President Morsi. On Wednesday, Egyptian army staged a coup and deposed him as he was placed under house arrest in his Presidential palace. The country seems to be heading towards a collision between the Islamist government and the military that is supporting the protests that are taking all over the country. The military has appointed a jurist as the interim chief of the government and suspended the constitution of the country till election is held and a new government is elected.
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The streets of Cairo have been filled by protesters demanding ouster of the President for the last 4 days. Sensing the unrest of the masses, the army gave an ultimatum to the President to resolve the impasse. However, President Morsi seemed defiant as he rejected all calls for his ouster saying he will prefer to stand and die to save the constitution rather than resign from his office. He even warned about a bloodshed if was forcibly evicted from his office. After the televised speech of the President, the Supreme Council head, General Abdel Fattah-al-Sisi, who is also the defense minister of Egypt, gave a 48 hour ultimatum to the government to resolve the deadlock and reach an agreement with the protestors. The President did not make a mention of the ultimatum given by the army but his officials had already described as an army coup.
Army has made it clear that it has no intentions of usurping power but it wants to make drastic changes in the political structure that has emerged in Egypt after the revolution that took place in 2011 and saw the end of the long rule by Dictator Husni Mubarak. Morsi was elected in the democratic elections that took place after 2011 revolution and he says
he will not give in to the demands of all those who want to take Egypt back to the days of dictatorship. But the protesters have been saying that Morsi did not reflect the will of the people as he did not share power with the opposition. Morsi is a west educated politician who won by a narrow margin in the 2012 elections. His critics are saying that he did not keep his promise of an inclusive government and treated his opponents like a dictator.
Unrest among the masses continued to simmer with the rising prices of commodities and shortage of fuel and electricity finally sparking the violent protests that have been taking place on the streets of the capital for the last 4-5 days. Sensing the public anger and sentiment, the army sprung into action justifying its moves as efforts for national reconciliation rather than a coup. El-Sisi has said that the military was only fulfilling its responsibility towards the people of Egypt as it ousted a western educated Morsi from the office.
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Meanwhile, Morsi, though he rejected the calls for his ouster, has said that he is open to dialogue and negotiations.
