Egypt president: 1952 coup fell short on democracy

CAIRO (AP) -- Egypt's new president says the country's 1952 revolution that overthrew the monarchy and started decades of army rule failed to bring about democracy.

Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first civilian and Islamist president, spoke Sunday in a televised address on the eve of the coup's 60th anniversary.

His message emphasized his struggle to wrest authority from the country's military, which has been at the center of power since the coup.

Morsi says in the last 30 years, fraud and corruption derailed the country's ambitions. That was a reference to ousted President Hosni Mubarak's reign.

He said last year's uprising that overthrew Mubarak has corrected the path.

The country's powerful generals released their own statement online Sunday, congratulating the people for the 1952 revolution, also known as the Free Officers Coup.