The evening of Wednesday 9 October 2013 saw a ceremony held at the monastery of St Samaan al-Kharaaz (St Simon the Tanner)on MuqattamHill
, east of Cairo, to commemorate the victims of what has famously become known as the Masperomasssacre of 9 October 2011. That day, a peaceful demonstration by Copts protesting the burning by Islamists of a church in Aswan, and the official nonchalance at the incident, was attacked by military armouredtrucks at Maspero on the Nile Corniche in Cairo. Twenty-seven Copts were crushed or shot to their death and some 330 were injured. The army insisted it had not attacked the Copts and that outside parties were involved, but no investigation has so far been made public.
The Wednesday event started with a speech by AnbaAbanoub, Bishop of Muqqattam churches. A film about the Maspero incident was screened, and a choir sang a number of hymns.
TheMaspero Youth Union (MYU), which organised the event, is demanding an investigation into the 2011 incident and that whoever is responsible should be brought to justice. Hany Ramsis of the MYU said thatdespite demands by rights activists and the Church throughout the last two years, no investigation was carried out.”We##re not only holding this event today to commemoratethose who died, but also to remind the State, the army and everyone in Egypt that we will not stop demanding justice.”
The Muqattam event was attended by members of the clergy, Muslim and Coptic politicians and public figures, and a large public.
Father Matthias Nasr, who was among the demonstrators in Maspero two years ago,gave a word in which he said that those who died back then were nothing short of martyrs.“We will always remember them,” he said. “In the Bible, bloodshed means life, forgiveness and redemption”.
Watani International
11 October 2013