The Port Said Stadium disaster continues to reverberate across the political scene, reports Ahmed Morsy The clashes between Al-Masri fans and the military police that erupted following the Egyptian Football Association's (EFA) Friday announcement of disciplinary measures against the Port Said club appear to have ended. Yet just as the situation was calming down in the Mediterranean coastal city, in Cairo hundreds of Ultras Ahlawi members began an open sit-in on Sunday in front of the People's Assembly. The EFA ordered that Port Said Stadium -- the scene of Egypt's worst football disaster when 74 spectators, mostly Al-Ahli fans, were killed on 1 February -- be closed for three years and suspended Port Said-based Al-Masri from the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons. According to the EFA statement, the club will be reinstated to the first division league in the 2013/14 season. Since the current season has already been cancelled it means Al-Masri will miss just one season. If that seemed too much for Al-Masri fans, who took to the streets of Port Said following the announcement, it seemed far too little for Al-Ahli supporters. EFA also ordered Al-Ahli to play its next four matches without spectators. The team's Portuguese coach Manuel Jose was suspended for four games, as was Al-Ahli's captain Hossam Ghali. The latter was also fined LE5,000 for arguing with the referee minutes before the pitch invasion that initiated the 1 February disaster. Karim Sami, a 25-year-old student in Port Said, told Al-Ahram Weekly that as soon as news of Al-Masri's suspension became public the team's hardcore supporters, the Ultras Green Eagles, took to the streets. The following day military police fired volleys of tear gas and shots in the air to disperse hundreds protesting outside the Suez Canal Authority's Port Said headquarters. Belal Mamdouh, 16, was killed by a gun shot to the back and more than 60 people were injured in the clashes. "Demonstrators set fire to tyres, blocked major roads before crowding in front of the Suez Canal's main administrative building in an attempt to storm it," Port Said resident Mohamed Tawfik told the Weekly. "Soldiers and police forces then cordoned off the Suez Canal Authority building." Clashes reignited on Saturday following the funeral of Mamdouh, with protesters smashing the façades of police and army clubs in the city. Once again they marched towards the Suez Canal Authority's headquarters, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at security forces. Ultras Green Eagles posted a statement on their Facebook page on Saturday insisting they had no connection with those who had attempted to storm the Suez Canal Authority's building. The statement described the clashes as a "trap" set by the military authorities to justify a violent clampdown on protests. "We withdrew from the streets when it became clear that a number of suspicious actions were taking place," said the statement, which went on to accuse the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) of stage- managing the violence. The resident of an apartment building overlooking the Suez Canal Authority headquarters told the Weekly most of those attempting to break into the authority's building were teenagers. "I don't believe that the Al-Masri's Ultras were involved in attempts to storm the authority's building. The one time they came to demonstrate in the area they stood 100-metres away from the gates of the building. And they withdrew once the clashes began." Security forces said on Sunday they had arrested 15 protesters during the clashes in front of the Suez Canal Authority building. By Monday Port Said MP El-Badri Farghali told the Weekly that "there is calm on the streets of Port Said, but it remains tense." Farghali criticised inflammatory reporting of the clashes by several sports channels, and also accused "counter revolutionary forces" of using the incident to sow division. "Though the opportunities arose to calm the situation down, Egyptian sports TV channels continued exploiting the issue of martyrs' rights to inflame public opinion against Port Said," the leftist MP said. He added that, "despite our attempts to ease the situation, these channels blow up everything when they spend hours on air attacking Port Said and no single official is stopping them. "Counter-revolutionary forces who were close associates of the former regime are trying to divide the country by inciting hatred against Port Said," he said. Farghali was accused by Ultras Ahlawi of requesting a reprieve of those accused of killing Al-Ahli fans; he denied the claim. "The only one who has the right to talk about the outcome of the case is the presiding judge," he said. Two weeks ago Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud referred 75 people, including the Port Said security chief General Essam Samak, eight police officers and three Port Said team officials, to trial over their involvement in the tragedy. The defendants face charges of either murder or complicity to murder. "Why should we continue to accuse Port Said and forget that there are nine police officers accused in the same case?" Farghali asked. Ultras Ahlawi have been protesting in front of the parliament since Saturday, ostensibly because the sanctions imposed on Al-Masri are too lenient. But though the sit-in in was called in response to the disciplinary measures against Al-Masri, its real target appears to be the ruling military, and Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri's SCAF appointed government. On Sunday Ultras Ahlawi used its Facebook page to "invite all Egypt revolutionaries to join us to fight for the rights of all martyrs". The statement also called for the real perpetrators of the stadium massacre to be exposed, including "senior officials" involved in planning the attack. The group's announcement on Facebook read: "We are on our way to parliament where the sit-in will be held, and we invite all of Egypt revolutionaries to join us to fight for the rights of all martyrs [who were killed during the January uprising and ongoing demonstrations]." According to the statement, the real perpetrators of the massacre should be exposed, including senior authorities involved in planning the attack. They said that accountability should not be restricted to Al-Masri fans. Raised banners in the sit-in had slogans insisting on swift trials for defendants in the Port Said massacre and a suspension of sports activities in the country pending retribution for those killed. "I joined the sit-in in solidarity with the families of the martyrs. Hopefully, it will pay off by speeding up the trials," an Ultras Ahlawi member, who sought anonymity, told the Weekly. In addition to the Ultras Ahlawi members, a few mothers of those killed in Port Said took part in the protest while holding posters of their sons. Some said they intended to stay with the rest of the protesters until their demands are met. Even though the sit-in apparently appeared to be against the EFA sanctions, it turned out to be against the ruling SCAF and the current government. "We are against the intervention of corrupt bodies that masterminded the conspiracy in football as the decision to impose penalties was taken by the prime minister whose Cabinet is one of the reasons behind chaos in the country," added the statement. Ultras Ahlawi were constantly being blamed for clashes with security forces before and after the revolution. Throughout 2011, the Ultras' out-of-stadium appearances were a hallmark, featuring in the frequent confrontations with security forces after taking part in protests -- though not all -- whether they were in Tahrir Square or other liberation sites. After the 25 January Revolution, they began to belt out political chants insulting the police forces and afterwards composed chants which included obscenities at the military police. On Monday another statement was posted accusing the authorities, "who take their legitimacy from the former regime", of planning the Port Said massacre to punish Ultras Ahlawi members for their role in demonstrations since the January Revolution. "With our own hands, and together with other revolutionaries, we will push to rid ourselves of the entire corrupt system," said the statement. Ultras went beyond retribution of the Port Said victims to seeking to avenge all those who were killed in the revolution. Thus, they called on all Egyptian activists to take to the streets "to start a new revolution on the corrupt system that took its legitimacy from the former regime." "We will not remain sitting in front of the parliament should our demands go unmet. We are ready to step up our actions to the limit."
