Four Egypt Ministers Resign as Opposition Issues Ultimatum to Mursi

Egyptian ministers of tourism, environment, communication and legal affairs tendered their resignations together to Prime Minister Hisham Qandil on Monday a day after massive protests against President Mohammad Mursi swept the country.

Tourism minister Hisham Zazou had already tried to resign last month after Mursi appointed Adel al-Khayat, a member of an Islamist party linked to a massacre of tourists in Luxor, as governor of the temple city. The president on June 16 named Khayat along with 16 other new governors, including seven from his Muslim Brotherhood movement. But Zazou returned to work last week after Khayat quit.

Monday’s resignations come as Egyptian opposition set Tuesday as a deadline for Mursi to step down or he will face civil disobedience.

“We give Mohammad Mursi until 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Tuesday July 2 to leave power, allowing state institutions to prepare for early presidential elections,” the Tamarod movement said in a statement on its website. Otherwise, “Tuesday, 5:00 pm will be the beginning of a complete civil disobedience campaign.”

The movement’s statement urged state institutions to stand side by side with the protesters, saying “the army, the police and the judiciary to clearly side with the popular will as represented by the crowds”.

Tamarod — Arabic for Rebellion — is a grassroots campaign which says it collected more than 22 million signatures declaring a lack of confidence in Mursi.

Opposition leader Hamdeen Sabbahi, who came third in the 2012 presidential election, called for military intervention if Mursi refused to quit. “The armed forces must act, because they have always been on the side of the people” which “has expressed its will”, Sabbahi said. The bestoutcome would be for Mursi to go willingly, he added.

However, Mursi’s spokesman Ehab Fahmy told reporters: “Dialogue is the only way through which we can reach an understanding… The presidency is open to a real and serious national dialogue.”

Health ministry said 14 people were killed and over 400 were injured in first day of “June 30” which went in several provinces.