Martial law until vote, Morsi orders

Protesters in Cairo push Egyptian soldiers standing guard Sunday in front of the presidential palace.
Protesters in Cairo push Egyptian soldiers standing guard Sunday in front of the presidential palace.

— Crowds of protesters marched on the presidential palace in Cairo on Sunday, registering fresh anger against President Mohammed Morsi’s plan to go ahead with a referendum on an Islamist-backed draft constitution.

With efforts to quell the tensions flagging, Morsi on Sunday issued an order placing security over government institutions in the hands of the military until after the results of Saturday’s referendum. The order, which will take effect today, also grants soldiers the right to arrest civilians.

Morsi rescinded Saturday parts of a sweeping Nov. 22decree that temporarily elevated his decisions above judicial review and that had put tens of thousands of protesters into the streets calling for his downfall. He also offered an arrangement for the factions to negotiate constitutional amendments this week that would be added to the charter after the vote.

But, Morsi did not satisfy a critical demand of the opposition: that he cancel the referendum set for Saturday to allow a thorough overhaul of the proposed charter, which liberal groups say has inadequate protection of individual rights and provisions that could someday give Muslim religious authorities new influence.

His decision Sunday to deploy the military, which has been widely interpreted as imposing martial law, seemed to indicate his resolve.

Some opposition leaders vowed to continue the fight to derail the referendum, including the National Salvation Front, an umbrella opposition group of liberal and leftist parties, which announced that it would meet to decide on a course of action.

The front said Morsi and the regime are “gambling by driving the country toward more violent clashes that are dangerous for its national security.”

“We are against this process from start to finish,” a spokesman of the National Salvation Front, Hussein Abdel Ghani, said Sunday. He called for more street protests Tuesday.

“We have broken the barrier of fear: A constitution that aborts our rights and freedoms is one that we will bring down today before tomorrow,” Mohamed ElBaradei, the former diplomat now acting as coordinator of the secular opposition, wrote on Twitter early Sunday. “Our power is in our will.”

In recent days, protesters have attacked more than two dozen Muslim Brotherhood offices and ransacked the group’s headquarters, and more than seven people have died in street fighting between Islamists and their opponents.

The moves over the weekend offered little hope of fully resolving the standoff, in part because opposition leaders had ruled out - even before Morsi’s concessions were announced - any rushed attempt at a compromise just days before the referendum.

“No mind would accept dialogue at gunpoint,” said Mohamed Abu El Ghar, an opposition leader, alluding to previously floated ideas about last-minute talks for constitutional amendments.

Nor did Morsi’s Islamist allies expect his proposals to succeed. Many said they had concluded that much of the secular opposition was primarily interested in obstructing the transition to democracy at all costs, to try to block the Islamists from winning elections. Instead, some of the president’s supporters privately relished the bind they believed Morsi had built for the opposition by giving in to some demands, forcing their secular opponents to admit they are afraid to take their case to the ballot box. Soon after the state newspaper Al-Ahram suggested on Saturday the president would impose martial law, a military spokesman read a statement over state television that echoed Morsi’s own speeches.

The military “realizes its national responsibility for maintaining the supreme interests of the nation and securing and protecting the vital targets, public institutions and the interests of the innocent citizens,” the spokesman said, warning of “divisions that threaten the State of Egypt.”

Morsi’s announcement Saturday about using the military for security marked the steepest escalation yet in the political battle between Egypt’s new Islamist leaders and their secular opponents over the draft constitution.

The president said he issued the Nov. 22 decree that set off the crisis to prevent the court appointees of former ruler Hosni Mubarak from dissolving the constitutional assembly and upending the transition to democracy. The terms of his concession were ill-defined; the new decree Morsi issued Saturday night said he retained the limited authority to issue “constitutional declarations” protecting the draft charter that judges could not overturn.Although the plan for martial law outlined in Al-Ahram would not fully suspend civil law, it would nonetheless have the effect of suspending legal rights by empowering soldiers under the control of the defense minister to try civilians in military courts.

Calling in the army could overcome the danger of protests or violence that might disrupt the referendum and the parliamentary election to follow. But resorting to the military to secure the vote could also undermine Morsi’s hopes that a strong showing for the constitution would be seen as a sign of national consensus that could help end the political crisis.

The draft constitution was adopted despite a last-minute walkout by liberal and Christian members of the Constituent Assembly. The document would open the door to Egypt’s most extensive implementation of Islamic law or Shariah,enshrining a voice for Muslim clerics in legislation, making civil rights subordinate to Shariah and broadly allowing the state to protect “ethics and morals.”

It fails to outlaw gender discrimination and mainly refers to women in relation to home and family. The charter also has restrictive clauses on freedom of expression.

Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the National Salvation Front, said the opposition is hoping to continue its pressure to lead Morsi to reconsider holding the referendum “and give us more time to discuss a new draft.”

“We will try our best so that this referendum doesn’t take place,” he said.

Near the presidential palace after dark, a group of protesters banged on drums, singing, “Leave,” as members of the Republican Guard, some perched on tanks, looked on. The nearby compound walls were covered in anti-Morsi graffiti.

“Power will not protect you from accountability in the afterlife,” read one message. A banner strung between power poles called on Morsi to “hold back your thugs.”

In one corner, two strangers debated whether to boycott the referendum.

“Now that blood has been shed, we cannot take part in this game,” said Nancy Attia, 27, who is arguing for a boycott. “I no longer recognize this president, how can I vote on a constitution he put to a vote?”

Meanwhile, Ahmed Safwat, 45, is calling for people to vote against the charter.

“We must go to the polls and organize ourselves just like they do,” he said, referring to the Brotherhood. “If we boycott, the constitution will pass and will gain legitimacy.” Information for this article was contributed by David D. Kirkpatrick and Michael Schwirtz of The New York Times; by Sarah El Deeb of The Associated Press; and by Mariam Fam, Salma El Wardany, Nadine Marroushi and Zaid Sabah Abd Alhamid of Bloomberg News.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/10/2012

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