Egypt's Morsi: No alternative for legitimacy, vows to stay

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said late Tuesday that there would be no alternative for legitimacy and he would stay on, amid the ongoing political division in his country, where the opposition and liberals are asking him to quit. In a televised speech, Morsi said only "constitutional legitimacy" guarantees that there would be no civil strife, urging Egyptians not to attack the army and the police. Prior to the speech, Morsi asked the military to withdraw its ultimatum announced a day ago. "(He) calls on the armed forces to withdraw their warning and rejects any to be dictated to internally or externally," according to a tweet on Morsi's official Twitter page. On Monday, the Egyptian military set a 48-hour deadline for all parties to resolve their conflict before imposing a military- supervised roadmap for the future of the turmoil-stricken country. In his late night speech, which lasted about 40 minutes and was merely about repetition of his earlier remarks, the embattled president reiterated that he came to power through a free presidential election, stressing that the 2011 "revolution" was peaceful. He restated that he had made mistakes, and that things had become clearer after his first year in office -- something he had said in a speech last Wednesday, ahead of the June 30 massive protests against him. "I want for Egypt to own its own will, for no one to dictate what it should do ... there are people abroad who don't want Egypt to own its will. It's easy to just listen to instructions," Morsi said. He meanwhile accused remnants of the former regime of blocking Egypt's democratic transition period. "The old regime doesn't want democracy. They are used to fraud elections," Morsi said, adding that "they don't know what democracy or freedom of expression are." The president said he cares very much that Egyptians are not split. "I will stand firm against any who spill their blood." With his fists clenched, the president said "my message to you all, to the opposition, is that I will stand by this legitimacy. Don't let the revolution be stolen from you, opponents and supporters."