Egyptian Military Occupies TV Stations
10:05 EDT
CAIRO, Egypt -- Egypt's military moved to tighten its control on key institutions Wednesday, even putting officers in the newsroom of state TV, in preparation for an almost certain push to remove the country's Islamist president when an afternoon ultimatum expires.
Mohammed Morsi has vowed not to step down in the face of millions of protesters in the streets in the biggest anti-government rallies the country has seen.
His Islamist supporters have vowed to resist what they call a coup against democracy, and have also taken to the streets by the tens of thousands. At least 39 people have been killed in clashes since Sunday, raising fears the crisis could further explode into violence
The clock was ticking on the military's deadline, expiring around 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (11 a.m. ET).
The military beefed up its presence inside the mammoth headquarters of state television on the banks of the Nile River in central Cairo. Crack troops were deployed in news-production areas. Officers from the army's media department moved inside the newsroom and were monitoring output, though not yet interfering, staffers said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the arrangements.
The state TV is run by the information minister, a Muslim Brotherhood member put in the post by Morsi, and its coverage had largely been in favour of the government. But already in the past two days, the coverage saw a marked shift, with more balanced reporting showing the anti-Morsi protests along with pro-Morsi ones. State radio has seen a similar shift.
The authoritative, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper -- which also seemed to be following a military line -- reported that the military had placed several leaders of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood under surveillance and issued a foreign travel ban on the Islamist group's top leaders.
The head of the army, Defence Minsiter Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, held a group meeting with leading reform advocate Mohammed ElBaradei, Egypt's top Muslim cleric -- Al-Azhar Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb -- and Coptic Pope Tawadros II to discuss its political road map, a spokesman for the senior opposition National Democratic Front, Khaled Daoud, said on state TV.
Also attending the meeting were a representative of the new youth movement behind this week's protests and some members of the ultraconservative Salafi movements, a defence ministry official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
It appears that the Egyptian military is preparing to take down Morsi.
The Egyptian military has been very smart in how they have done things. 1st, last Thursday, they announced they were moving troops into the vicinity of all the major cities but would take no action unless there were massive civil violence. Morsi thought they were doing so to help support his government...but it became apparent that the troops were actually there to prepare for Morsi's deposing when, on Monday, after reveiwing the size of the protests, the military issued an ultimatum to Morsi to step down...with troops already deployed across the country to enforce it.
Now, in the face of Morsi's refusal, the military is occupying the State run TV and newspaper, and is meeting with all of the opposition, the leading reform advocate Mohammed El Baradei, Egypt's top Muslim cleric, the Coptic Christian Pope, the leader of the new youth movement behind Sunday's protests and members of the conservative Salafi movement. Clearly, a coalition that will help the nation be governed in the absence of Morsi and the Musilm Brotherhood.
