Doaa El-Bey and Rasha Saad highlight the views surrounding the deadly battle in Cairo The Copts' demonstration followed by bloody confrontations in Maspero on Sunday brought to mind the Imbaba incident and other deadly events involving sectarian strife, and raise an important question as to why the government and the ruling military council are not taking decisive action to prevent these conflagrations. Newspapers covered the details of the confrontation. Al-Shorouk headlined 'Black night for the Egyptian revolution'. Al-Gomhuriya quoted the ruling military council as saying that a governmental committee was established to investigate the battle, Al-Masry Al-Youm called on Prime Minister Essam Sharaf to resign, and Al-Ahram quoted the EU denouncing the violence in Maspero. Mohamed El-Ezabi described the Maspero incident as a sad night for us all. He wrote that the timing of the Copts' demonstration was known beforehand. "Then why were no measures taken to secure it. In addition, even though the confrontation lasted for some time, security forces did not arrive in time to stop the fighting." Furthermore, no action was taken after the confrontation, he added, just talking and analyses on TV about hooliganism and sabotage. "I cannot believe that the army and police were not able to confront these events starting from hooligans blocking the roads and ending with a Maspero massacre. Why can't we stop violence when we possess the power and emergency laws?" El-Ezabi wrote in the official daily Al-Gomhuriya. El-Ezabi expressed sadness as well as concern about the future of Egypt amid all these analyses, the officials' weak response and blaming the incidents on external hands and even ghosts. There are genuine problems, El-Ezabi stated at the end of his article, and the solution should start with decisiveness and serious confrontation. The editorial of the official daily Al-Ahram said the latest events in Maspero showed that the powers that refuse to abide by the laws are putting Egypt in danger. The editorial saw no reason for violence during demonstrations since the ruling council and the government acknowledged the right of peaceful demonstrations which should lead to constructive dialogue. Thus, there is a strong need to confront any attempt to trespass on the principles of constructive dialogue and to respect the other point of view. "A revolution cannot achieve its noble target overnight. Time is needed to rebuild the state and establish a new institution that can run the people's affairs," the edit added. The edit emphasised that building a sound economy is the only way to meet the demands of various groups and create the desired social justice. But violent protests spread disorder, provide cover for the counter-revolution and take Egypt to a dangerous precipice. The edit concluded by calling on "enlightened national powers to act wisely to save the nation from havoc and on officials to face violence and sabotage decisively." Adel El-Sanhouri called for quick action. He wrote in the independent daily Al-Youm Al-Sabei that after every similar incident "we produce feelings of anger, frustration and fear about Egypt. But nobody takes any tangible moves to contain sectarian strife and abort the plans to divide Egypt." Every time, El-Sanhouri added, "we see a repetition of the absurd scene of a meeting between Al-Azhar and the church to confirm national unity and calls from others that Egypt is in danger and that there are internal and external hands that are messing up the relationship between Muslims and Copts. Every time the confused prime minister expresses his worry and fear for the country, others come out to denounce the act and passively watch officials and citizens pushing Egypt to the black destiny awaiting it." However, he emphasised, this time the situation is different because it is the most dangerous since the 25 January Revolution. All the red lines were crossed and it is clear that there is an internal catastrophe or a ball of fire that needs to be extinguished with quick and decisive laws and decisions. "The situation is now in need of an emergency operation to save the ailing body and the revolution that could be aborted," he wrote. El-Sanhouri ended by outlining a few steps: calming down the angry public, punishing those who caused the crisis and issuing a quick decision to fire the governor of Aswan, then establishing a committee to pass laws concerning building places of worship. The role of the fulul &-- or the members of the disbanded National Democratic Party (NDP) &-- in spreading havoc was an issue that occupied many writers. Mustafa Abdel-Razeq wrote the fulul are playing a major role in creating chaos in Egypt now. They also threaten to spread more disorder if the government passes the treason law that would ban them from taking part in politics for five years. "The fulul have succeeded in spreading chaos in an unexpected way until it became a general rule in Egypt. Some people question whether the revolution failed," Abdel-Razeq wrote in the daily Al-Wafd, the mouthpiece of the opposition Wafd Party. The Marinab incident in Aswan which was triggered by a Friday sermon in a small mosque ignited another round of sectarian strife. Abdel-Razeq wondered what made university professors, doctors, public transportation workers, teachers and others heed calls to protest. Whatever the reasons are, it is very obvious, Abdel-Razeq added, the fulul are behind the havoc spreading in Egypt. Hazim Hashim regarded the disbanded NDP as a genuine threat that could ruin Egypt. The power of that party, he wrote, is strongly represented by its fulul who are getting ready to run for parliamentary elections followed by presidential elections. If the fulul are that strong now, what would they do if the treason law was issued? Hashim asked in the independent weekly Sawt Al-Umma. "There is consensus that all what Egypt has witnessed from demonstrations, sit-ins, sabotage and disorder is initiated by the fulul," he wrote. Hashim expressed his belief that "whoever underestimated the power of the NDP is mistaken because it has been provided by all the state's resources and power for 30 years. In addition, its senior members formed a whole class of corrupt opportunists who will not give up their power easily. They will lead a ferocious war to regain their lost authority and the regime that supported them."
