CAIRO — President Mohamed Morsi Sunday dismissed his powerful defense minister as part of a sweeping set of decisions that includes the appointment of a vice president and the rescinding of a military order that curbed presidential powers. Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali announced the retirement of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the armed forces, and the chief of staff, Sami Anan. They have been appointed as advisers to Morsi. Tantawi, who ruled Egypt for more than a year after the revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak, was replaced by Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi. Armed forces chief Anan got the sack a week after a deadly attack on the Egyptian military in the Sinai which prompted an unprecedented military campaign in the lawless peninsula. Morsi decided to scrap a key constitutional document which gave the military legislative powers and other prerogatives, his spokesman Yasser Ali said. “This sets up an inevitable showdown with the supreme constitutional court as the court is likely to attempt to overturn Morsi's cancelling of the supplemental constitutional declaration. It seems this move will require the sacking of the court if it is to stand,” said Michael Hanna, a fellow at the Century Foundation, a US thinktank. The Sinai incident triggered further clashes between security forces and militants in the peninsula and led to the removal of Egyptian intelligence chief Mourad Mowafi. Morsi's move on Sunday marks the latest blow in a tussle between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military over control of post-transitional Egypt. The decisions were taken in consultation with Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), including Tantawi, the new deputy minister of defense, Mohamed Al-Assar, said. Tantawi's successor Al-Sissi is one of the generals who defended the use of “virginity tests” against female protesters in March 2011 – with Al-Assar as his deputy. The new chief of staff is Gen. Sidqi Sobhi Sayed. Tantawi and Anan were honored with accolades, Tantawi receiving the highest medal in the country, the Order of the Nile, and Anan also receiving a medal, which has led to speculation that rather than indicating a face-off, this latest move comes as part of the “safe exit scenario” that would see SCAF members leave office without fear of prosecution. “What is happening now was planned once SCAF realized they had to make a deal with the Brotherhood anyway,” said Sherif Azer, deputy director of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. “This moment where SCAF would fade back into the background was expected, and I believe that they knew this was their best option for a safe exit, just fade away from the political realm.” Revolutionaries who participated in the ousting of Mubarak, in 2011 have remained opposed to the military throughout the transitional period, and have criticized the Muslim Brotherhood for what they see as the party's willingness to forgo the revolution in return for political gain. Gigi Ibrahim, a member of the Revolutionary Socialists group, said: “Morsi and SCAF joined forces in the face of the revolution to simply crush and control Egypt.” Morsi also appointed senior judge Mahmoud Mekki as his vice president. Mekki was a senior figure in the independent judges movement during the Mubarak era that agitated for more judicial independence. Morsi had promised that his two first appointments would be Coptic Christian and female vice presidents. — Agencies
