The funeral of four Copts, who were among some 21 Coptic protestors and three Muslim soldiers killed during an army attack last Sunday against Coptic protestors, was today held at St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Abassiya, Cairo.
WATANI International
10 October 2011
The funeral of four Copts, who were among some 21 Coptic protestors and three Muslim soldiers killed during an army attack last Sunday against Coptic protestors, was today held at St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Abassiya, Cairo. Most of the Coptic victims were crushed alive as military armoured vehicles mowed through them on Sunday evening. Eyewitnesses insist that sevral dead bodies were hauled by the attackers and hurled into the Nile, making the number of the dead uncertain.
The bodies of the other Copts who were killed were handed by their families to the health authorities for official after-death investigation, since their families wished to prove their injuries; that they had been killed with extraordinary brutality. This especially that the preliminary hospital death reports cited as reason for death: “cardiac arrest owing to fear”.
Three-day fast
Amid the unrestrained wailing and howls of pain of the congregation, as well as cheers of “Raise your head high, you are Coptic”, Pope Shenouda III presided over the funereal service.
The service began with the procession carrying the caskets down the isle of the church to the sound of melancholy chants of “Praise the Lord…” and “Lord have mercy”. After the Bible reading, an announcement was made that the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church had declared a three-day fast starting the following day, Tuesday, coupled with prayers for peace to reign over Egypt. Aswan Bishop Anba Hedra had last week already called upon Aswan Copts to join in a three-day fast. “Our aim is to ask God to intervene and shield us with His hand and have mercy upon us,” he said.
Bishop of Youth Anba Moussa delivered a word on behalf of Pope Shenouda, in which he offered condolences to the families of those who had died, and reminded of the heavenly crowns awaiting them in eternal life. He also thanked those who had come to share in the Copts’ grief and offer them comfort.
A day earlier, thousands of Copts had gathered in the towns of Alexandria, Beni Sweif, Minya, Luxor, and Aswan to protest against the burning of the church by hardline Islamists in the Aswan village of Merinab, the official attitude of blaming the Copts for it, and the military’s forceful breaking up of a Coptic protest against it in Cairo last Tuesday. These protests proceeded to a large extent peacefully, but the Cairo protest met a harrowing end.
“We only want peace”
What started as a peaceful, officially sanctioned, vigil intended to protest the injustice inflicted upon Copts in Egypt turned into one of the most violent, heinous scenes since the January revolution. The afternoon witnessed some 50,000 protestors, for the first time joined by a number of priests, peacefully march from the Cairo district of Shubra, famous for its high Coptic population, and head towards the High Court House in Downtown Cairo.
The women were in black or dark clothes and they were to hold a vigil in front of the State TV building in Maspero, Cairo. Many were very ordinary Copts who would normally keep out of any trouble, but who went down to take part in the vigil.
The protestors had a list of demands: the dismissal of Aswan governor Mustafa al-Sayed, the rebuilding of the Merinab church, bringing to justice the culprits who burned the Merinab church; compensating the injured during the military-led dispersion of the Coptic protests last week; and ensuring a quota for Copts in the upcoming parliamentary elections. A number of rights activists and moderate Muslims participated in the march, chanting slogans that declared: “Muslims and Copts are one hand.” The protestors demanding fair treatment by the military rulers, and chanted: “Peace…peace. We only want peace.”
Mangled bodies
On their way, the protestors were attacked—verbally and physically—by thugs from Sabtiya, a district known to harbour thugs. The Copts defended themselves against the attack, but the army claimed that the Copts had attacked the army. Many of the demonstrators, among whom was activist Mina Samir who suffered an eye injury, told Watani that the military was in alliance with the thugs, Several testified on satellite TV to ‘friendly’ conversations going on between both. It is commonly believed that the military exploited the thugs to start hostilities against the Copts so that, once the Copts fought back it could be claimed they were on the offensive.
The army brutally turned against the Copts; tear gas and live bullets were fired on the demonstrators. Armoured vehicles ran over the demonstrators, crushing them to pieces. Even when the protestors ran for the relative safety of the sidewalks, the armoured trucks brutally chased them there. Twenty-two bodies bear witness to the sort of death they met. Nurses at the Coptic hospital told Watani that the bodies were mangled, disfigured, dismembered, and one was headless. One head was split at the back, obviously bludgeoned to death.
Some 500 were injured. Those Copts who tried to escape inside nearby buildings were pulled out and either arrested or killed. As many as 100 were detained. The Copts retaliated by throwing stones at the military and burning two armoured trucks and a number of cars.
Later in the evening the chase moved from Maspero to Ramses street, at the Coptic Hospital where many of the victims had been moved. Ra’fat Raouf, a young worker who lives next to the hospital, told Watani that thugs converged on the hospital, and attacked the family members of the victims and the injured, who had arrived to check upon their loved ones.
Media conspiracy
A curfew was declared from 2.00am till 7.00am Monday morning in Maspero, Tahrir and Downtown Cairo.
But what hurt the Copts most and made this incident of violence against them particularly unique was that the State media made it look as though the Copts attacked the army and got what they deserved. The result is that there was minimal public sympathy with the Copts.
In Egyptian homes, viewers were greeted by the State TV literally instigating against the Coptic community. It called upon honourable Egyptians to go and defend members of the Army which was being attacked by the Copts.
Mahmoud Youssef, a news presenter with the Egyptian TV, wrote on Twitter denouncing the biased coverage and instigation of Egyptian TV against the Copts. “I wash my hands of what is being broadcast by Egyptian TV,” he wrote. Another presenter, Dina Rasmy, also denounced the TV coverage.
Monday morning, however, the coverage took a different turn. State TV declared a day of mourning for those who died in Maspero, openly admitting that the coverage of the previous day had been come under heavy criticism from the public.
On Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, bloggers Muslims and Copts alike, denounced the brutality with which Copts were treated as well as the absurdities propagated by Egyptian TV. Bloggers also posted a number of videos that captured the brutality in Maspero. A number of them deplored the fact that no official gave any statement or made any public appearance following the incident. Some explicitly expressed their discontent at the Military rule.
“What happened is a crime against humanity. Field Marshall Tantawy and the Military Council are responsible for it”. Strategic expert and Coptic activist Emad Gad said on Nile News channel. “This could be a prelude to a civil war,” he said.
Officially
On the official level, General Hamdi Badeen, head of the Military Police declared that what happened will not affect the morale of the Egyptian Army which is ready to offer more martyrs if need by.
The Premier Essam Sharaf said on a phone a call with the Egyptian TV that the sorrowful incidents at Maspero is but part of a big plan to overthrow and divide the State. He called on everyone to exercise self-control, promising that the State would not let these incidents pass without investigation. He said that the citizenship does differentiate between Muslim and Christian, stressing that both the Military Council and the State are with the right of all Egyptians to build places of worship.
Reported by Georgette Sadeq, Maged Samir, Robeir al-Faris, Mervat Ayoub, Nader Shukry, Michael Victor, Milad Zaky, Nermine Michel