CAIRO: In a press conference today, Egypt's interim ruling government, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), delivered their official narrative of the military-backed violence that left at least 25 protesters dead, and almost 300 injured last Sunday. In Sunday's deadly slaughter, Egyptian soldiers greeted Coptic Christian protesters gathered in front of Maspero, Egypt's state TV building, with live ammunition. They ran over protesters in armed personnel vehicles (APVs) and rained tear gas canisters onto the crowd of a few thousand Egyptians. Protesters picked up rocks, and broke off pieces of the sidewalk to throw at soldiers, attempting to defend themselves against the military offensive. They also attacked the swerving APVs, attempting to remove the vehicle's driver. In the press conference that neared three hours, there was no mention of the 25 protesters martyred. The SCAF washed their hands of the bloodshed, claiming that soldiers present were unarmed. They denied all accounts that soldiers opened fire on protesters, and claimed that they could not “confirm or deny” whether army vehicles ran over Egyptian citizens gathered for the demonstration. The SCAF made the further claim that three soldiers died in the night's violence, though state TV reported that no soldiers died. They refused to name the soldiers, claiming that they were buried in private to prevent “army morale” from dwindling. The military has cracked down on protests since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak last February, outlawing protest according to the nation's abusive emergency law. However, the unprecedented violence was the first time that the military employed such heinous cruelty towards its own people. Sectarian tensions have built in Egypt over the last two decades. The SCAF's moves on Sunday have fanned the flames of these tensions, creating popular anxiety over state security and thus a convenient raison d'être for the country's heavy-handed rulers. The official account narrated today is demonstrably untrue. It is easily debunked by video footage and eyewitness testimony. Nonetheless, the Egyptian government reported the following, as translated by a Bikyamasr.com staff member. “The revolution has an enemy, working to kill it, we are sure. These enemies wish to question our leaders and incite sectarian violence to create chaos and wedge a gap between the SCAF and the people.” “The armed forces have the duty to preserve security. They do their job without any agenda at all, and should be respected by all people.” “When we know that the army is securing a place, we should respect it. The armed forces are ready to sacrifice themselves at the borders, and it is not fair to assault them.” “The armed forces will continue to be in power until our goals of holding free elections, establishing a constitution and electing a president are met.” “There are enemies of the nation who take protests as a chance to destroy us, and we should watch this closely.” “The marches started peacefully and turned violent. All of this is under investigation in court. We are on top of the facts. People died, but soldiers did not shoot. There is no way we opened fire on people. The orders are clear—use self-control, and do not shoot. The armed forces' guns are not loaded” “The SCAF is in power to protect the people, not oppress it. We don't confront people, but we have to use force by law in the face of the enemy of the people.” “The weapons of the SCAF are used to kill, not secure. If we used our weapons, it would have been catastrophic—but it did not happen.” “The SCAF is an Egyptian institution that took responsibility to protect the people.” “Maspero is a strategic institution, and any threat to break in will be taken seriously. The guards were no more than 300, and they were armed only with anti-riot gear. There was no live ammunition.” “It is a principle that no shots are to be fired at people, and it is the guards' responsibility to protect protesters and allow traffic to flow.” “There is a video of a priest encouraging people to protest and another where an angry priest called the Governor of Aswan, who comes from a military background, a liar.” “A few hundred people gathered, and it was a civil gathering. I congratulate the Coptic leaders who kept things calm, and the armed forces who were there to protect the protesters.” “Armed forces have the duty to stop clashes between people and protesters, and we endured a lot to stop thugs from clashing with protesters.” “Around 6:30 the numbers grew to 6,000 in Cairo.” “Protesters outside of Maspero were carrying strange things, including Molotov cocktails, swords, knives and wooden and metal sticks” “These images do not say ‘peaceful protest,' but I only mention the facts.” “Many of the protesters started approaching Maspero's guards, and the violence started, as they hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails.” “The protesters were armed, and we are sad to report that our soldiers lost their lives or were injured because of the Copts” “The violence was unprecedented in the history of Egypt. There is no way that an Egyptian could injure another Egyptian like that.” “The clashes started and the soldiers started to defend themselves with what they had.” “Regarding the running over of protesters, the idea of running over people is not in our dictionary. Even in our engagement with enemies, we would never let a vehicle run over someone.” “There were soldiers inside the vehicles when protesters started burning them. A soldier drove the vehicle while there were some protesters in front of it. I do not deny that maybe some one could have gotten injured.” “Media outlets that aired false news and incited people could have caused sectarian violence.” BM
