Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi will meet on Wednesday with the general commanders of the Egyptian Armed Forces, at the Defense Ministry headquarters, to discuss recent domestic developments as Wednesday`s forty-eight-hour deadline approaches.
Mohamed ElBaradei, delegated by the June 30 Front and the National Salvation Front (NSF) to negotiate in the name of political powers, was also called to participate in the meeting, as confirmed by Mohamed Abul-Ghar, head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, on television.
Representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood`s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), Tamarod (Rebel) campaign, ultra-conservative Salafist Nour Party, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II are expected to join the meeting as well.
During an anti-Morsi Rebel campaign press conference Wednesday, Rebel spokesman Mahmoud Badr announced that they will continue to push for President Mohamed Morsi to step down and for the rest of their demands to be met. Badr slammed Morsi`s Tuesday night speech, stressing that the army has the full trust of the Egyptian people and will protect their lives, not allowing for civil war as hinted in Muslim Brotherhood statements.
Rebel campaign supporters repeated the call for demonstrations at the Republican Guards headquarters on Wednesday at four o’clock in the afternoon.
At 3:30 p.m., the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy is also expected to give a statement. The Brotherhood-led political alliance that includes the moderate-Islamist al-Wasat Party, the Salafist Watan Party and al-Gama‘a al-Islamiyya`s Building and Development Party, stated on Monday that they refuse any attempts from the army to turn against the legitimate president, urging the public to support their elected president and their constitution.
Earlier Wednesday, al-Gama‘a al-Islamiyya refuted statements that called for referendum on presidential elections, and its most recent position is still to be confirmed.
Egyptians are expecting a statement from the army as soon as the forty-eight-hour deadline they gave on Monday expires, around four o’clock in the afternoon Cairo time. The ultimatum they gave the Egyptian political forces requires they either "fulfill the people`s demands," or the army will present a road map for the country including all political currents.
[This article originally appeared on Ahram Online]