By Tyler Yates
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
CAIRO, Egypt — Egyptian protesters are beginning to show signs of unrest towards the Egyptian military rule that began after the fall of Hosni Mubarak. On Friday a mass rally calling for reforms was held at Cairo’s Tahir Square. By nighttime what had started as a peaceful protest had turned violent as thousands of people tore down a protective wall around the Israeli Embassy, while others defaced the headquarters of the Egyptian Interior Ministry.
The Egyptian state news agency reports that 448 people were injured and 17 protesters were arrested in the mayhem.
The rally’s main purpose had been to press the military rulers to keep the promises they made for reform after they took over the country.
“It would be a shame on the Egyptian people if they forget their revolution,” a preacher leading a Muslim prayer section earlier in the day at the protest remarked.
A big sticking point for many protesters is the usage of military trials for civilians. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that almost 12,000 civilians have been arrested and brought before military tribunals since February. This is more than the total number of civilians who faced such trials under Mubarak.
The military rulers have sad that the trials of civilians before military tribunals will end as soon as the state of emergency is lifted. After Friday’s incident it is uncertain when this will happen.
The military released a statement saying that it will respect the activists’ right to protest peacefully, but it warned that it would respond to violence with “the utmost severity and decisiveness.”
The interior ministry said that it had withdrawn its riot police stationed in Tahir Square to allow the protest to proceed unhindered. Reports confirm that police and military personnel were nowhere to be seen in Tahir Square or in the streets surrounding it, but when the protests turned violent they arrived by the truckload.
The scale and attitudes of Friday’s protest mark a departure from the previous Egyptian protests that have occurred since the revolution began. Mixed with the liberal goals of retribution against Mubarak and an end to military rule were new grievances over recent events, including a border dispute with Israel and a brawl between soccer fans and police at a match the previous Tuesday.
Thousands of ultras –hard-core soccer fans – were a conspicuous presence in the protests and a dominant force in the violence. Notorious for their obscene chants and pension for brawling, the ultras have become increasingly engaged in the politics of the revolution.
Egyptian politicians at every level have spoken out against the violence. Some even chided the military for failing to have some sort of presence at the protests until they were forced to respond with brutal force. Many were careful to distance themselves from any support of Israel. Among the objections against Mubarak was his steadfast devotion to the alliance between Egypt, Israel, and the United States. Aspiring political candidates and the military rulers have been careful to stay on the popular side of these sentiments.
For more information, please see:
Human Rights Watch — Egypt: Retry or Free 12,000 After Unfair Military Trials — 10 Sept 2011
New York Times — After Attack on Embassy, Egypt Vows Tougher Stance on Protests — 10 Sept 2011
Al Jazeera — Egyptians protest against military rule — 9 Sep 2011
New York Times — Protest of Thousands in Cairo Turns Violent — 9 Sept 2011
