When the Bad Turns Ugly...

Today is certainly a sad day in Egypt.   I’m sure most of you have seen the news that last night a number of people died during a protest march that eventually turned violent.  It is also clear to me from emails and facebook messages I have received that the news about this news in the states is not surprisingly overly alarming.

A little background.  There is a long history of violence between the Copts (a Christian sect) and Muslims in Egypt.  Copts have long felt marginalized and victimized by the majority Muslim population here and so their grievances are nothing new.  A few weeks ago a Coptic church was burned in Aswan.  This has set off a number of protests by the Coptic church calling for increased protection of Copts by the military who they feel do not offer them the same support and protection as they offer the Muslim population.  I have read that last week a soldier hit a priest during a smaller protest.  Yesterday’s protests appeared to be peaceful.  Copts were marching from an area of the city called Shubra to the state TV building Maspiro.  Two men leading the march were wearing long white robes reading, “martyrs on demand” others were carrying signs reading “god protect you my children” etc and chanting, “this is our country”. 

Apparently (mind you this is all from what I have read and seen over the past day) as the protestors crossed under the 6^th of October Bridge stones starting hailing down on them from above.  They continued their march and turned towards Tahrir Square where they were met by stones being thrown by the Egyptian military, tar gas and shots being fired into the crowd at random from armed tanks.  At this point things become even more unclear.  I think that protestors tried to turn around and head back the way they had come.  Out of nowhere two tanks drove at high speeds erratically through the protestors swaying from side to side on the road very clearly driving into crowds of people on purpose.  I watched this on live TV from a café a few miles away. 

As of this morning dozens were wounded and at least 26 are dead.  Many were crushed by the armored vehicles and others were shot.

Earlier in the evening the news stations were showing live coverage of the events.  Around 9pm however the military took control of the media and ended all live coverage.

It is my belief that the violence that was carried out yesterday was largely at the hands of the military.  I have seen photos of high ranking Central Security Forces amidst groups of thugs inciting violence as well as read multiple first hand accounts claiming that this is the case.  The takeover of the media last night would suggest this as well.  It appears that this was an attack on the Coptic Church by official Egyptian actors.

This is being seen as a national tragedy in Egypt.  All political parties and candidates have expressed outrage at the attacks and all Egyptians:  Christians and Muslims are in mourning at both the loss of life and the actions of the military.

At a time where SCAF is already losing the faith of Egyptians this latest move is sure to cause an even larger rift between the people and the leadership.

I would like to make it clear that as of today this was an isolated incident.  It took place in only one area and was over by this morning.

I am sure the West will capitalize on this as a way to highlight more violence in the Middle East and the prevalence of violence against Christians.  While after last night this cannot be denied please realize that this does not reflect the will or desires of the majority of Egyptians.  I talked about this incident in great detail with my students today all of whom were appalled at the actions of the thugs and the military. 

If you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer them. 

Love and tears from Cairo,

Martha