The Maspero massacre: An exercise in
WATANI International
6 November 2011
Concealment, delusion, discrimination
I am not alone in feeling wary about the outcome of the fact-finding mission charged with investigating the Maspero massacre of the Copts on 9 October, and the incident which led up to it: the burning of Mar-Girgis (St George) church in Merinab, Aswan on 30 September. Facts which are now being disclosed by the day, draw a clear scenario of both cases; the fact-finding commission will place itself in a dire corner if it shies away from giving a candid, credible account of the events.
I have before me several documents concerning the Merinab and Maspero tragedies, which expose an appalling level of official concealment of the facts, delusion of the public, and discrimination against the Copts. Following is a review of these documents:
• On 12 October, three days following the bloody Sunday that witnessed the Maspero massacre, Aswan Bishop Anba Hedra released a statement exposing the official and media deception and fact-concealment that surrounded the burning of the Merinab church. Aswan governor Mustafa al-Sayed denied the presence of a church in the first place, alleging that the building in concern was a guesthouse. Anba Hedra’s statement cited a number of relevant facts which I expect the fact-finding commission to expose. The torched church building was a newly-built one which replaced an old, dilapidated that was originally a house whose owner donated it to the Church back in 1940. From this date on, prayers had been held inside the building, which lent it formal and popular recognition as a church. Anba Hedra performed religious services, including Holy Mass, several times there, and promoted the priest in charge to Archpriest, proving recognition of the ‘church’. Since 1999, a date since which churches over Egypt were provided with official security protection, the local authorities provided the church in Merinab with official guards. Sequential cables from the police station to the village Umda (Mayor) held instructions concerning the dispatch of security men to guard the “Mar-Girgis Church”. Anba Hedra’s statement declared that the official permits for the demolition of the old building and the construction of the new one explicitly denote the building as “Mar-Girgis Church in Merinab”. This is clearly cited in both the demolition and building permits.
• On 16 October, 16 Egyptian human rights groups issued a statement under the title “The State foments sectarian strife and encourages murder”, which reported the details of the Maspero massacre. Again, the fact-finding commission’s report should not overlook the facts included in this statement:
1. The church of Mar-Girgis in Merinab, which has housed religious services for some 80 years, was demolished by a group of Muslim extremists who claimed the church was non-licensed. In what amounts to complicity on the part of Aswan governor and the local security officials, the rule of law was not upheld. Nothing was done to implement the law by deterring or penalising the offenders, culprits, or instigators. Instead, the security officials held ‘reconciliation meetings’ between the victims and offenders, during which the victims had to relinquish their rights and the aggressors were allowed to get away with their crime, no questions asked.
2. Video clips and eye witness testimonies on the Maspero incident prove that forces from the military police and central security dispersed the demonstrators by shooting at them and running them over by armoured vehicles. In retaliation, the protesters hurled stones at the security forces and burned an armoured vehicle. Plain-clothed men joined in attacking the demonstrators and the hit-and-run continued until the late hours of the evening.
3. The signatories of the statement condemned the role the Egyptian formal media played in instigating against the demonstrators. In flagrant breach of professionalism and impartiality, the official media broadcast false information about protestors targeting the army with gunfire. Throwing responsibility to the wind, some Egyptian media outlets went so far as to call upon Egyptians to take to the streets and support the army against the Coptic assault.
4. The signatories stressed their utmost dismay at the subsequent speech by the Premier Essam Sharaf, and the press conference by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to comment on the incident. Both lacked the minimum sense of responsibility when they claimed that the killings were out of clashes between Muslims and Christians and referred to a role played by “foreign conspiratorial elements”. Such allegations sought to absolve the Armed Forces’ soldiers and officers of the killing of demonstrators, even as it praised the “impartiality” of the formal Egyptian media and disregarded its role in agitating the public against the Copts.
5. The human rights groups rejected the fact-finding commission set by the Prime Minister and called for the formation of an independent commission that would include judges and representatives from the civil society. The commission should be given the prerogatives required to disclose the facts about the Merinab and Maspero tragedies, and the culprits discovered should be referred to court.
6. The only way to prevent the recurrence of sectarian violence and media agitation is for the State to pursue non-discriminative polices that uphold the rule of law and stress principles of citizenship rights, justice and equality.
With this recommendation in mind, how can it be explained that, up to the present, the SCAF has declined to treat the injured of Maspero at the expense of the State. Meanwhile, newspapers have carried news that the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, has ordered the treatment of 16 victims of a street fight in Tanta at the Armed Forces’ hospitals. Are we not before a case of flagrant discrimination?
