Egyptian presidential hopefuls have been quick to condemn the violence in Port Said, with some blaming a political conspiracy that seeks to deliberately bring about chaos in order to reverse the gains of the revolution and destroy the democratically-elected Parliament. Violent clashes erupted between fans of the Ahly and Masry teams after a match in Port Said on Wednesday, killing at least 74 people and injuring hundreds. “What happened was no mass riot, but rather a full-fledged crime and a terrible massacre by forces that do not care about the human soul,” said candidate Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh. “The armed robberies of the past few days show that the military council is complicit as remnants of the former regime in the security forces and Interior Ministry try to sow discord and spread chaos,” he said. Abouel Fotouh warned of the escalation of violence amid the security vacuum, which would drive people to take matters of defense into their own hands, encouraging unrest across the country at this critical time. He called on all political and revolutionary forces to unite, and on the elected Parliament to bear its full responsibility and authority in bringing those involved to account in a swift and decisive manner. Presidential candidate Mohamed Selim al-Awa also linked the Port Said violence with a recent upswing in crime across the country, and held the military council and security services responsible. Presidential hopeful Hazem Abu Ismail called on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to hand over power to Parliament within 24 hours in order to form an interim executive council to run the country until presidential elections take place. “It would be a government born from the womb of the revolution,” he said. “The military council is behind this,” he added. “It is manipulating the people with laws that have been decreed in secrecy.” “It is a blow to the stability of society,” said candidate Amr Moussa of the Port Said clashes, calling on the Egyptian people and national institutions to band together to prevent unrest. Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm.
