CAIRO —A virtually unknown judge was named interim president of Egypt on Thursday following the military-orchestrated ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the democratically elected Islamist leader whose year in power spawned huge protests by Egyptians opposed to the way he governed.
Judge Adly Mansour, who just three days ago became chairman of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court, was appointed by Egypt’s top generals to form a “national unity government” and rule the nation until new elections can be held.
(The Washington Post;/Source: staff reports) - Where the protests and clashes have taken place in Cairo;
At a brief morning ceremony, the 68-year-old judge said he had been granted the title of president “by those who have the power to do so, Egypt’s great population, which is the master and the commander and the source of all authorities.”
Mansour pledged to uphold the constitution, but the actual meaning of that promise was unclear: Egypt’s constitution, ratified by Morsi’s Islamist supporters last year despite criticism that it fails to protect the rights of women and minorities, was suspended by the army on Wednesday night.
“We are hopeful of hanging on to the main principles of this revolution and its new values,” Mansour said, referring to the popular uprising in 2011 that ended with the army taking charge and deposing longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. “Most importantly, to end the worship of the ruler, who comes to resemble a demi-god, [and] to stop producing tyrants.”
Morsi was under house arrest at a Presidential Guard clubhouse, where he had been residing, said Gehad el-Haddad, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood party, which backs Morsi. It was not clear what charges he was facing.
The military also arrested 12 top Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including Morsi’s closest aides, Haddad said. The Brotherhood leaders who remained out of detention had not decided on a plan of action. “It’s still in discussion,” Haddad said.
On Thursday morning, exhausted anti-Morsi revelers lingered in Tahrir Square after a night of fireworks and celebration. Some supporters of Morsi were still encamped at Cairo University and the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque.
The Ministry of Health reported that 10 people were killed and 481 injured across the nation. Army troops maintained a large and visible presence on the streets of Cairo and Egypt’s provincial capitals.
Morsi’s ouster underscores the elusiveness of democracy in the Arab world’s largest country. Political analysts have warned that no matter how warmly the military’s move may have been received by the many liberal and secular Egyptians who deeply resent Islamist rule, it would not bode well for the country’s democratic future.
Even if Egypt moves quickly to new elections, they said, future civilian leaders will govern with the knowledge that the military could step in at any time. Before Morsi’s election, the nation was effectively governed by the military for six decades.
Analysts have also cautioned that the military’s removal of an elected president could provoke an Islamist insurgency — much like what Algeria experienced in the 1990s after its powerful military canceled an election ahead of an imminent Islamist victory at the polls.
Judge Adly Mansour, who just three days ago became chairman of Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court, was appointed by Egypt’s top generals to form a “national unity government” and rule the nation until new elections can be held.
(The Washington Post;/Source: staff reports) - Where the protests and clashes have taken place in Cairo;
At a brief morning ceremony, the 68-year-old judge said he had been granted the title of president “by those who have the power to do so, Egypt’s great population, which is the master and the commander and the source of all authorities.”
Mansour pledged to uphold the constitution, but the actual meaning of that promise was unclear: Egypt’s constitution, ratified by Morsi’s Islamist supporters last year despite criticism that it fails to protect the rights of women and minorities, was suspended by the army on Wednesday night.
“We are hopeful of hanging on to the main principles of this revolution and its new values,” Mansour said, referring to the popular uprising in 2011 that ended with the army taking charge and deposing longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. “Most importantly, to end the worship of the ruler, who comes to resemble a demi-god, [and] to stop producing tyrants.”
Morsi was under house arrest at a Presidential Guard clubhouse, where he had been residing, said Gehad el-Haddad, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood party, which backs Morsi. It was not clear what charges he was facing.
The military also arrested 12 top Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including Morsi’s closest aides, Haddad said. The Brotherhood leaders who remained out of detention had not decided on a plan of action. “It’s still in discussion,” Haddad said.
On Thursday morning, exhausted anti-Morsi revelers lingered in Tahrir Square after a night of fireworks and celebration. Some supporters of Morsi were still encamped at Cairo University and the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque.
The Ministry of Health reported that 10 people were killed and 481 injured across the nation. Army troops maintained a large and visible presence on the streets of Cairo and Egypt’s provincial capitals.
Morsi’s ouster underscores the elusiveness of democracy in the Arab world’s largest country. Political analysts have warned that no matter how warmly the military’s move may have been received by the many liberal and secular Egyptians who deeply resent Islamist rule, it would not bode well for the country’s democratic future.
Even if Egypt moves quickly to new elections, they said, future civilian leaders will govern with the knowledge that the military could step in at any time. Before Morsi’s election, the nation was effectively governed by the military for six decades.
Analysts have also cautioned that the military’s removal of an elected president could provoke an Islamist insurgency — much like what Algeria experienced in the 1990s after its powerful military canceled an election ahead of an imminent Islamist victory at the polls.