Massacre pushes Egypt to point of no return

Crescent International

Ramadan 19, 1434 2013-07-28

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

The Egyptian military has exposed its brutal nature very quickly. The blood splattered walls of Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque and the surrounding pavement where hundreds of unarmed protesters were gunned down before Fajr prayers on Saturday provides ample proof of their criminal nature. Nothing short of an Islamic revolution can bring these criminals to justice. Nothing less would do.

Cairo,

July 28, 2013, 18:07 EDT

With hundreds of Mursi’s supporters killed over the weekend in army and police shooting, and such killings likely to continue as evident from firing on funeral processions in Port Said and Kafr al-Zayat on Sunday, Egypt may have been pushed to the point of no return. Will the Muslim Brotherhood now realize that it has to confront and defeat the military before there can be freedom and justice in Egypt?

When the military-appointed Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim claimed at a Cairo press conference yesterday that no shots were fired and that the police and army had come under attack, he could not explain how so many people had died of gunshot wounds or why there were no dead soldiers or policemen. Even the BBC’s Quentin Sommerville found the minister’s claim to be untrue “given the severity and number of injuries.” The veteran Middle East journalist Robert Fisk reported from the hospital where he saw scores of bodies with bullet wounds to the face, head and chest that they had been shot by live ammunition.

Far from accepting responsibility for the mass murder, Interior Minister Ibrahim said the departments of state security tasked with fighting extremism and monitoring political and religious activity have been reinstated. He further added that a new police reshuffle will be announced Monday and will include police officers who have been excluded before. The state security apparatus that gained notoriety for torture and arbitrary arrest of Mubarak opponents was formally dissolved in March 2011 and its functions transferred into the newly established National Security Agency.

Ibrahim’s announcement prompted the Tamarod (Rebel) movement, the group of patsies used by the military to come to power, that it will not support taking away the freedoms and rights of individuals. Tamarod will learn a lot more as days go by and they realize they have been used by the military to advance its own agenda. It will not be surprising if many of Tamarod’s leaders also end up in jail.

Equally disgusting was the statement from Mohamed ElBaradei, the self-appointed statesman and opposition leader blaming the Muslim Brotherhood for the killings saying they should not have brought people into the streets. It is OK for the military to call upon the people to come out into the streets—and ElBaradei’s group endorsed the call—but the Brotherhood must not do any such thing. ElBaradei is a Zionist stooge as is his master in uniform, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The Israeli ambassador to Egypt called Sisi a “great friend of Israel”. He must be if he is an enemy of the Egyptian people and their freedoms.

Leaders of other political parties in Egypt have not found the courage to condemn the massacre of innocent civilians and the military that is in charge of the affairs of state. Instead, they are issuing meaningless statements about dialogue or at best a judicial inquiry. Who will conduct such inquiry; the Mubarak-era appointed judges that have been instrumental in frustrating the will of the people and have conspired all along with the military to bring down a legitimately elected government?

The massacre of innocent civilians prompted the former Malaysian deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to issue the following statement on July 27: “Today’s massacre of more than 100 [actually number is more than 200] pro-Morsi supporters and members of the Muslim brotherhood around the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo marks the darkest day for Egypt since the Arab Spring. I categorically condemn this bloodbath committed by the military and the security forces. Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi together with the leaders of the present illegitimate interim government of Egypt now have blood on their hands and must be held to account.”

It is now up to the Brotherhood leadership to guide and motivate people to confront the monster in their midst. The protesters have not been discouraged by the many deaths of Saturday morning - rather they are more convinced of their cause. A protester at Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque told the BBC, “Regardless of what happens to the president, we will continue our protest. Our numbers are increasing every day. Citizens are recognising the tyranny and the long-term danger of the military coup.”

This is now a test for the Brotherhood leadership to demonstrate whether they can rise to the occasion and confront the thugs in uniform. The blood of the martyrs must not go to waste.

END