By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
CAIRO, Egypt – After security forces fired on Sunday’s peaceful march by Coptic Christians, killing at least 25 people and injuring at least 300 more, Egypt responded to allegations of running protesters over with armored vehicles and the use of live ammunition by saying that their actions were justified. Wednesday, the ruling military council that is serving as the country’s interim government, suggested that the security forces were acting in defense from violent demonstrators. At the same time, Egypt faces identical opposition.
During Wednesday’s press conference, two Egyptian generals claimed that the soldiers were unarmed and shocked by what they saw. According to these leaders, a force of 300, armed with only riot gear, encountered a cadre of 6,000 Coptic dissenters who were armed with weapons, including sticks, stones, swords, and Molotov cocktails.
“The armed forces would never and have never opened fire on the people,” General Mahmoud Hegazy, a member of the ruling military council, told the assembled media.
Hegazy was also shown footage of military vehicles at the scene. In response, the generals asked for sympathy, saying that soldiers were trying to escape the area, not run over protesters. The New York Times believed that their tone of voice was meant to soften allegations of the military attempting to assert greater power.
“I want you all to imagine, as parents would, the soldier in his vehicle now who sees the scene and wants to run for his life,” said General Adel Emara. “He sees a car burning, and if people jump out, the crowd beats him up severely, so this is not safe either. What can he do, other than try to drive his car out of this hell to safety? He wanted to get away with his car; he must’ve been traumatized.”
Emara’s efforts to deny the claim of vehicles being used to run over dissidents has already been proven false. Forensic analysis of the dead indicated that they were run down by vehicles.
Exactly what started the violence is unclear. The military council accused Christian figures and notable public figures of inciting the riot. Emara said that only a minority of the Coptic Christians present were peaceful, while the rest attacked the soldiers.
But Thursday, a lawsuit was filed against Minister of Information Osama Heikal and Rasha Magdy Rasekh a television presenter for the state-run media, accusing them of inciting violence against the peaceful Coptic rally. According to the complaint, Rasekh, whose job was under Heikal’s jurisdiction, made a report of Christians attacking the armed forces that “was, in fact, the intentional broadcast of false news, information and rumors, which disturbed public security, cast terror among the public, and harmed the public interest.”
While controversy over the incident in Maspero continues to fester, the Egyptian government also promised to investigate disputes over church-building. In response to the massacre and Coptic claims that the government has not paid sufficient attention to them, Haikal announced Thursday that the Justice Ministry will be forming a review committee. Its mission will be “to review all the incidents that occurred in the past few months concerning disputes over churches … to identify those responsible and take appropriate action.”
The military council emphasized that it does not want sectarian violence to continue. The generals used Wednesday’s press conference to call for Egypt’s disparate religious groups to come together as one.
“The Egyptians include everyone in Egypt, whatever their religion, race or color. The Copts are part of the fabric of Egyptian society, which means they have rights and duties,” Hegazy said. “The strength of the Egyptian people comes from its unity. The Egyptian Armed Forces belong to the people, as they are part of the same fabric.”
The shooting in Maspero was Egypt’s worst incident of this kind since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak in February.
For more information, please see:
Egyptian Gazette — “Copts Are Part and Parcel of Egypt” — 14 October 2011
Al Jazeera — Egypt’s Army Accuses Christians of Incitement — 13 October 2011
Al-Masry Al-Youm — Information Minister Alleged to Have Incited Killing of Protesters — 13 October 2011
Daily News Egypt — Egypt to Review Church Permit Disputes after Violence — 13 October 2011
New York Times — Egypt Promises to Address Coptic Christians’ Concerns –13 October 2011
BBC — Egypt’s Army Defends Tactics in Coptic Rally Crackdown — 12 October 2011
New York Times — Egyptian Generals Plead for Understanding after Death of Coptic Protesters — 12 October 2011
