CAIRO: A goodwill delegation of around 100 of Egypt's thinkers, artists and media took a trip on Monday to the city of Port Said in an attempt to close the wedge between the seaside city and the rest of the country after violence at a football match in the city left 75 dead and hundreds injured. The initiative was spearheaded by George Ishaq, the well-known human rights activist, who's hometown is Port Said, accompanied by a number of other known figures such as Gameela Ismael. The initiative aims to begin a dialogue with the city's residents over the recent events and clear its name after the whole country was struck with grief over the loss of lives on February 1. The violence happened during a football match between the host team al-Masry and the visiting team al-Ahly, in which the home team won 3-1. The clashes started between the two sides when rocks and fire crackers were directed at Ahly fans, but the referee decided not to cancel the second half and continued the game. The rivalry between the two teams is to blame, but security forces stood by and watched as the violence escalated when the match ended, and are the ones who have taken the real blame from Egyptians. The visit is scheduled for a few days to bridge the gap and restore the reputation of one of Egypt's oldest ports. Al-Ahly fans issued a statement this week calling for retaliation for the murders and called for a cleansing of the ministry of interior, who they hold responsible for the violence and the lose of lives. They will be marching Wednesday in Cairo on the two-week anniversary of the violence from the club's Cairo's headquarters to the attorney general's office in downtown to call for speedy results on the investigations. Police said they have arrested two main suspects in the case, two Masry fans known to have taken part in the violence. Iron and wooden sticks, knives and fire crackers were used in the killings, according to eye wittiness reports. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/HsnP8 Tags: Dialogue, featured, Football, Port Said Section: Egypt, Egyptian Sport, Latest News, Sport
