WATANI International
16 May 2011
The thousands of protestors staging a sit-in since last Sunday in front of the TV building on the Nile bank in Maspero, Cairo, said they were extending their sit-in indefinitely “until their demands are answered”. The protestors are in the major part Copts, but are joined by Muslims who support their call for equality, justice, and an end to discrimination and violence against Copts. The sit-in began in the wake of the heinous attack on Saturday 7 May by thousands of Salafi hardline Muslims against the Copts of Imbaba, Giza, on account of a story that a Muslim convert woman was being “held captive” at the church of Mar-Mina in Imbaba. The attack left 15 dead, 232 injured, a number of Coptic-owned houses and cars torched, as well as a church burned and another damaged. To say nothing of the terror inflicted upon the innocent Coptic civilians and the severe disruption in their lives. Many of them had to leave Imbaba altogether.
Guessing game
Saturday 14 May evening a group of thugs attacked the Maspero protestors from above the 6th October overpass, firing gunshots in the air to spread terror. The protest, staged as a sit-in following the violent attack against the Copts in Imbaba, Giza, against the flagrant discrimination and violence to which Copts in Egypt are systematically subjected. Father Filopateer Gamil, one of leaders of the Maspero protest told Watani, before communication with him was interrupted, that the attack began around 7:30pm. At the scene of events, Watani witnessed gunshot, Molotov cocktails, and stones hurled at the demonstrators from above the flyover. Twenty-five were injured and a number of the protestors’ cars were burned. Some time later the army intervened with tear bombs to disperse both groups—the attackers and the protestors.
The identity of the attackers was not known, since no one or group claimed responsibility for the attack. In an open guessing game, some at Maspero thought the attackers may have been paid to do so by persons who belonged to the pre-Revolution regime, others thought the perpetrators may have been the traders in the vicinity on account of their halted activity, while yet others believed it was the army who recruited thugs to do the dirty work for them. The purpose, of course, was to put an end to the almost week-long sit-in with no end in sight. But the protestors stood their ground.
Injured and arrested
According to Dr George Sidqi who is in charge of the Maspero field clinic set up by the protestors, 140 people were injured until Sunday morning, among whom 19 Muslims who had joined the Copts in their protest. According to figures by the Health Ministry, 70 out of the 78 cases who were hospitalised with bone fractures and injuries due to rubber bullets and gunshot, were released. The eight remaining cases remain in critical condition. It is suspected, said a Ministry of Health official/representative, that one of the thugs who started the attack on the protestors, is among the eight cases still being treated in hospital. He is suffering from several bone fractures and is being kept at al-Qasr al-Eini Hospital.
Angelius Fouad of the Maspero Youth ‘Discipline Committee’ told Watani that some of those who were moved to hospital were later arrested. He pointed out that two out of twenty injured who were moved to the Coptic Hospital were arrested without issuing any legal report against them. Nineteen of the 54 who were detained on Saturday night were released on Sunday. The remaining 35 are still awaiting investigations. Worth mentioning is that the two thugs who are among those detained were still not questioned.
The pope
Sunday morning, Pope Shenouda III issued a statement in which he called on the Maspero protestors to immediately end their sit-in, explaining that people with different intentions have now ‘lurked’ within the protestors’ ranks. “This is very harmful to Egypt’s image and to your image as well,” said Pope Shenouda addressing the Maspero protestors. “The rulers’ patience has run out. You stand to lose if you carry on with your sit in,” concluded the pope. This did not stop busloads of more Coptic protestors from pouring into Maspero, arriving from various places in Cairo and Egypt. As a result, the Military Police and the Special Forces firmly cordoned all entrances to Maspero. Special Forces camped in Abdel-Moneim Riad Square, near Maspero, in anticipation of any more clashes or assaults.
Later in the evening Pope Shenouda met a delegation of the Maspero protestors who wished to explain to His Holiness how they felt. According to Father Matthias Nasr, a Maspero sit-in organiser, the Pope informed him that the reason behind the statement was His Holiness’ concern for the protestors’ security. Fr Matthias explained the Coptic demands to achieve justice, and the Pope agreed that they were legitimate demands. Back in Maspero, Fr Matthias quoted the Pope as saying: “I can never pressure my children; it is just that I fear for them.” The crowd cheered.
‘Serious situation’
On its part the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) denounced the ‘barbaric attack’ on Maspero’s Coptic and Muslim protestors at the hands of hundreds of thugs, which resulted in dozens of injured. The NCHR described what happened as a ‘serious situation’ which aims to disrupt Egypt’s security and stability. According to the NCHR, thugs are taking advantage of the ‘lax government’ which does not react to incidents according to their proportionate weight and implications. The NCHR denounced the shortcomings of the security apparatus since 25 January. It expressed astonishment at the failure of Security to stop the thugs from reaching Maspero in the first place—which could have prevented the clashes altogether. It warned of the repercussions of the on-going state of chaos, saying that the entire community stands to pay dearly, and that it can result in Egypt’s downfall.
The NCHR called on the Military Council and the Prime Minister to dismiss the Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawy for failing to achieve a state of stability and security within the community and for giving freedom to law breakers, all of which contributed in inciting sectarian tension. This, warned the NCHR, can end in civil war. Anyone who tampers with Egypt’s security should be dealt with harshly, advised the NCHR.
Outside Cairo
According to Watani’s Nash’at Abul-Kheir from Alexandria, some 5000 demonstrators gathered on Sunday 15 May in front of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, holding up wooden crosses pictures of Pope Shenouda III, and the Egyptian flag, with banners denouncing the recent bloodshed, especially in Imbaba and Maspero. A group of Muslims joined forces with the Coptic crowd, and each group literally surrounded the other during prayers. When the
Other places in the country, including Minya and Assiut in Upper Egypt, were also the scenes of Coptic protests.
Reported by Georgette Sadeq, Robeir al-Faris, Hanan Fikry, Mervat Ayad