Egypt's Morsi defiantly says he won't step down

7/2/2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Mideast-Egypt-protesters-7-2-13

    Opponents of Egyptian Islamist President Mohammed Morsi protesters shout slogans in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday.

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    • An military helicopter flies over an protester of Egyptian Islamist President Mohammed Morsi as he waves a national flag, in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.
    An military helicopter flies over an protester of Egyptian Islamist President Mohammed Morsi as he waves a national flag, in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt.

    CAIRO —Egypt’s embattled president says he will not step down as demanded by millions of protesters, vowing to protect his “constitutional legitimacy” with his life.

    Addressing the nation in a speech carried live on state television late Tuesday, Islamist President Mohammed Morsi accused loyalists of his predecessor Hosni Mubarak of riding the current wave of protests to topple his regime.

    “There is no substitute for legitimacy,” said Morsi, who has received an ultimatum from the military to work out his differences with the opposition by Wednesday or it will intervene to oversee the implementation of its own political road map.