Egypt's Morsi may be ousted, but supporters won't give up
(CBS News) CAIRO -- The president installed by the military leaders of a coup in Egypt named a new prime minister and vice president Tuesday, but that didn't calm the millions of Egyptians who support the deposed president.
Mohammed Morsi was the first freely elected leader in Egypt's long history. Now, he's under military guard. On Monday, the army massacred his supporters who demanded his release.
Morsi's supporters refused to be intimidated. A day after Egyptian soldiers opened fire on a crowd of protesters, killing more than fifty people, thousands of them rallied again in Cairo, protected by their own team of volunteer security guards.
Many of these people say it doesn't matter what Egypt's new government does. They won't leave the street until Mohammed Morsi is reinstated as president.
As Egypt's first democratically elected president, Morsi was criticized as dictatorial and ineffective. But for the crowd of conservative Muslims in Wednesday's demonstration, he's a hero.
"I came 600 kilometers here to support legality," said Essam al-Hawany. "To support the legal president who we vote for."
Muslim Brotherhood rejects Egypt interim government's plan for new elections
Watch: Egypt reacts to interim prime minister's appointment
Full Coverage: After the Arab Spring
Protesters like Al-Hawany, a high school teacher, told us by ousting the president, the military has made a mockery of Egyptian democracy.
But he's determined not to give up the fight.
"Our blood will win, so we have nothing in our hands," he said. "We came with our hearts only, and our blood only."
Other protesters made the same point Tuesday in a powerful Islamic ceremony. These men carried martyrs shrouds -- a symbol that they're willing to die for their cause.
Military leaders have said they'll have an election in six months, but that has done nothing to quiet the situation. Morsi's supporters say those new elections are a sham because Egypt's democratically elected president was removed by the military.
The country has been through two-and-a-half years of political turmoil. But with Morsi now in custody and arrest warrants issued for many of his supporters, Egypt's divisions look deeper than ever.
