CAIRO: Leading international rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Egyptian military to hand over its investigation to a third-party, adding that it fears the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) is trying to cover up the violence on October 9. On that day, the military opened fire on Coptic Christian protesters, killing at least 27 people and wounding over 300. “The military cannot investigate itself with any credibility,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “This had been an essentially peaceful protest until the military used excessive force and military vehicles ran over protesters. The only hope for justice for the victims is an independent civilian-led investigation that the army fully cooperates with and cannot control and that leads to the prosecution of those responsible.” Eyewitnesses and videos online have revealed the extent of the violence, with armored vehicles running over unarmed peaceful protesters in front of the country's state television and radio building, or Maspero. The violence and killings has been referred to as the “Maspero Massacre” by activists. But last week, Egypt's interim ruling military council, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), stuck to its official narrative about the violence witnessed at the October 9 Maspero protest, dismissing military responsibility for the events. On October 19, SCAF's Generals Mohamed al-Attar and Mahmoud Hegazy interviewed live with Mona al-Shazly and Ibrahim Eissa, two prominent Egyptian TV correspondents, to discuss the events at Maspero. “It was done by a foreign sect, and we are after them. We will get them. The security forces are working night and day to find those responsible,” said SCAF General Mohamed El-Attar. “The armed forces were targeted just like the Copts. The forces were unarmed,” he said, continuing with the official military narrative that outside aggressors sparked the night's violence. When confronted with questions regarding video and eye witness reports of army soldiers running over protesters with military vehicles, the military generals continued with their official story that soldiers acted in self defense. “The driver was watching the other armored trucks as they were set on fire, and other truck drivers getting pulled out. He was in self defense mode, he was defending himself,” he recounted, despite footage from unnerving videos showing army tanks aiming for protesters. Mahmous Hegazy continued the story, dismissing claims that the violence at the protest was associated with Egypt's rising sectarian tensions. “It is wrong to associate the high number of casualties with the fact that they were Christians,” he explained. He then went on to reference the thousands of workers on strike across Egypt, who are demanding fair wages and work conditions. “People need to calm down and understand that the state and the government is incapable of answering all demands at the moment. We need to calm so that tourism returns,” he said. Many in Egypt have rising doubts that the SCAF is set to hand over power to a democratically elected, civilian government as they once promised. BM
