CAIRO: On Friday, the Maspero Youth Union said that the report issued earlier in the week by the National Council for Human Rights in Egypt regarding the October 9 violence in front of the state television building, or Maspero, was fair, but fell short in naming a third party allegedly behind the killings. The union demanded that the council give the real names of those allegedly responsible for the violence that left 27 protesters, largely Coptic Christians, dead. The NCHR report was issued last week and it agreed that the Coptic protesters did not start the violence and that an “anonymous” third party was responsible for the shootings, but did not give specific details. Coptic protesters marched through the Egyptian capital on October 9, demanding their rights and voices be heard. Upon arrival at the Maspero building, eyewitnesses say the military guarding the building opened fire on the protesters, killing 27 and wounding hundreds more. Armored vehicles also ran over protesters, resulting in death and injury. The military has denied initiating the violence and said days after the incident that the protesters attacked the armed forces, who responded in self-defense. However, the union they praised the rights group's report for its affirmation of how peaceful the protest was and how it called for resolving urgent Coptic issues. The group was also said the report said the armed forces used “unjustified executive force against the protesters.” “Copts were never preachers of violence and were never a tool to trade their love for Egypt,” the Maspero Union statement said in response. BM
