Nader Habib watches as Copts mourn their dead and express their anger Thousands of people, Copts and Muslims, locals and foreigners, showed up for the funeral of the victims of the Maspero carnage. By noon on Monday, the grounds of the Coptic Cathedral in Abbasiya were full of mourners waiting for the bodies of victims to arrive from the Coptic Hospital two miles away, many chanting slogans hostile to the army and Field Marshal Tantawi. Emotions ran high, with some mourners drawing parallels between the early martyrs of Christianity and the victims of the recent confrontation in front of the state television building in Maspero. Others said the carnage could have been avoided had the government fired the governor of Aswan, Mustafa El-Sayed, immediately following the attack on a church in Edfu. Nesma Abbas, a member of the Arab Unification Party, is Muslim and veiled. She stood calmly inside the cathedral grounds listening to Copts venting their anger against what they described as the "army of infidels" now running the country. Abbas visited Tahrir Square on the night of the events and heard first hand accounts of the bloodshed. Abbas was dismissive of official reports that Coptic protesters had fired at the army. Abbas believes as yet unknown provocateurs were responsible for the mayhem. The thugs attacked the army to get it to react. When they did peaceful Coptic protesters were caught in the middle. A woman standing nearby was in tears. She told me that Gamal Fayek Wanis, her relative, was among the victims. "He left children behind. This is a terrible crime," she said. When I asked her if he was carrying any weapons she screamed at me. As church leaders emerged from the cathedral the crowds began chanting. "With life, with blood, we die for the sake of the cross.�--ê�We want our rights.�--ê�They removed Mubarak and brought the field marshal, so much for change." Naguib Habib Girgis said he couldn't believe what the army did during the Maspero confrontation. Several services were held for the victims of the carnage. One, involving four victims whose families had refused autopsies, was attended by Pope Shenouda III and senior political figures. It was followed by a second service for a single victim, and a third for 17 victims. All were later buried at the 6 October Cemetery. Pope Shenouda III appeared despondent during the mass. Usually he sits at an angle allowing him to see the congregation but this time kept his face away from the cameras, gazing at the coffins. He left the cathedral immediately after the service. Among the mourners was presidential hopeful and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa, who said that this was a "major crisis for all of Egypt". He said that incidents of this type were "alarming and humiliating" and must not be repeated under any circumstances. Kifaya leading member George Ishaq said that those who fell were all Egyptians. Offering sympathy to all the families of the victims, he said that the army's way of dealing with the protesters was unacceptable. "This violence was unjustified. It didn't have to happen. Running over protesters with armoured vehicles is a criminal act and it calls for a thorough investigation." Coptic activist Michael Mounir said the violence was a direct result of the government's refusal to stand up to Islamist fundamentalists. After the first prayer service thousands of Copts left the cathedral to march towards the Coptic Hospital. As traffic came to a halt in both directions the crowds demanded the speedy processing of burial permits for the victims and chanted anti-army slogans. "Either we have them avenged or we die like them. Down with military rule." The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has ordered the government of Essam Sharaf to form a fact finding committee to investigate the Maspero clashes, urging it to use "all legal measures" against anyone implicated in the violence. The cabinet also referred the new unified law for places of worship to a legal committee to prepare a final draft and instructed the National Justice Committee to hold consultations over the draft so that it can be approved within two weeks. There were also indications a new clause would be added to the penal code criminalising discrimination on religious grounds. The Military Prosecution Office has started interrogating 28 detainees accused of involvement in the Maspero events. As the clashes involved attacks on military personnel and damage of military property, legal experts say that military judiciary has a clear mandate in the case. The recent events were triggered by tensions over the burning of a church in Edfu, near Aswan. Aswan's Governor El-Sayed was quoted in Al-Ahram claiming that he had agreed to the building of a "guesthouse" for Copts nine metres in height, but the actual building was higher. Copts were then asked to remove the extra height but did not do so immediately. This angered a Muslim preacher who gathered young people after the Friday prayers and told them to remove the extra height themselves. According to the governor, the fire that erupted later on was in the "room of the contractor who was late in removing the extra height and not in the guesthouse itself". On Tuesday morning thousands of Muslims and Christians marched from Abbasiya Cathedral to Tahrir Square in a funeral procession for Mina Daniel Nabil, who died in the Maspero confrontation. It was Nabil's dying wish that his funeral pass through Tahrir. Active in the 25 January Revolution, Nabil was hit by two bullets during the Battle of the Camel. He took part in most of this year's protests held in Tahrir and Maspero. He was buried at the Archangel Church in 6 October City.
