CAIRO: A United States commission on religious freedom has condemned the Egyptian military for violence that left at least 25 people, mainly Coptic Christians, dead and hundreds more injured on Sunday in Cairo. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in a statement published on Tuesday, demanded an impartial investigation be undertaken to uncover what happened in front of Egypt's state radio and television building, or Maspero. “USCIRF condemns in the strongest possible terms violence that targeted peaceful protestors, primarily Coptic Orthodox Christians and those Muslims who joined the demonstrations. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families,” said USCIRF chair Leonard Leo, in a statement. “The most recent attack clearly demonstrates the ongoing problem of unchecked violence directed against a religious minority. This violence, if unaddressed, threatens the stability of Egyptian society and the future of that nation. USCIRF urges the US government to vigorously press for a prompt and impartial investigation to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice, something that has been elusive in Egypt in previous attacks on religious minorities. “With parliamentary elections mere weeks away, the Egyptian government must promptly investigate, prosecute those responsible, and deter any future attacks. The government must ensure that this violence does not signal a decisive turning point away from the potential of a democratic future for Egypt,” said Leo. Military police used force to disperse a Coptic Christian march that started from the district of Shubra and arrived early Sunday evening at Maspero, the National Radio and Television building. The military fired upon protesters, and ran them over with military vehicles. Thousands of Copts had gathered for the evening to protest the burning of a church in Edfu, Aswan on September 30. Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf gave an address to the nation early Monday morning, calling the clashes, “a conspiracy to bring down the state and not sectarian violence.” Some families of the deceased demanded autopsies for the bodies of their sons and daughters to determine the cause of their deaths. In the coronary report of one victim, the cause of death was reported as “fights between citizens.” Things on Sunday intensified after the military issued a statement on national TV, urging citizens to take to the street and “help protect the army against Coptic attacks.” Eyewitness told Bikyamasr.com that the call drove armed men from their houses to protect the army, believing that Copts were attacking the military and attempting to kill officers. This later turned out to be entirely false. One injured man at the scene told Bikyamasr.com that rumors about Copts burning copies of the Qur'an spread in the Cairo neighborhood Bolaq, near downtown. In response to the rumors, men took arms and “went out to defend Islam,” the injured man said. He asked not to be identified. He had a broken arm, and his head was injured and bleeding, yet he refused to go to the hospital for fear of getting arrested. He added that he and friends saw a corpse of man lying under the bridge near downtown and wanted to move it, but were stopped and assaulted by residents armed with bats and guns. Eyewitnesses by Maspero said that residents from neighboring areas came in to aid the military, and burned several cars near the building. The army, however, claims that Coptic protesters were the ones responsible for vandalized public property and attacks against soldiers, a notion that Copts and eyewitnesses strongly deny. “We were not armed and not at any point did any of us hold a gun. This was a peaceful protest that suddenly turned bloody after the military attacked us,” Mina, a protester who fled the violence in Maspero and took refuge in Tahrir, told Bikyamasr.com. “They were killing us even after we shouted “silmya, silmya” or “peaceful, peaceful,” he added. ** Manar Ammar contributed to this report. BM
