CAIRO: Two members of Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Mohamed al-Assar and Mahmoud Hegazy, made an appearance on popular evening talk show 10pm, hosted by Mona el-Shazly and Ibrahim Eissa. Al-Assar and Hegazy used very conciliatory language to discuss all issues raised. They confirmed that Egyptian citizens' demands are legitimate, but added that these demands need time to be met. Hegazy said, "Some people are fueling sectarian strife; Egypt's problems will not be solved during the transitional phase. Therefore, it is necessary to prioritize. The most important thing now is to establish democratic organizations in the People's Assembly and Shura Council," the lower and upper houses of the Egyptian parliament. Al-Assar added that categorical demands are discussed in different ministries and many of them are financial, but there are not enough resources to cover them all. "We do not delay demands in order to hold parliamentary elections, but because there are not enough funds to cover them. The current government was established under bad circumstances," al-Assar said. He added that the government faces difficult challenges, but said these challenges can be surmounted. "I do not defend the government,” said al-Assar. “However, this is an exceptional situation. The January 25 Revolution erupted after many years of corruption. All categories have problems.” Hegazy said Egypt faces thousands of escaped prisoners and stolen and smuggled weapons in the wake of the revolution. He said the police system needs to be reformed in order to achieve security after complete collapse. "The Egyptian citizen needs to respect policeman in order to speed up security," said Hegazy. Hegazy also said the SCAF, the government and the people are not satisfied with the state of security in Egypt. He also spoke about the difficulties that the Egyptian army has faced in the past. "In 1976, the army was defeated, but the people supported the army. Now, we are facing a more complicated situation than 1976, because the security state is more difficult and complicated," said Hegazy. "We need all Egyptian categories to cooperate. We will not ask foreign experts to solve [our problems]. The army could not control all Egyptian governorates because this is the job of the police forces," he added. Regarding the deadly October 9 Maspiro clashes, al-Assar said those who want to harm Egypt triggered the incident, drawing on the knowledge that the greatest disasters in Egypt are discord between the army and the people and sectarian strife. "The Maspiro clashes caused these two disasters," said al-Assar. Twenty-seven people were killed when clashes erupted between Egyptian military police and Coptic Christian demonstrators. Al-Assar also said Coptic Christians are part of Egyptian society. “We will find them,” he said, referring to those behind the deadly clashes. "The video tape which we screened during press conference does not mean we condemn the Copts,” he said. “However, it proved that the army was attacked by Copts. Infiltrators began burning cars and assaulting soldiers," said al-Assar. Hegazy said accusing the Egyptian military of using force against Egyptian citizens was unfair. Hegazy asked Egyptian people to be patient and confirmed that the SCAF understands the citizens' demands and suffering. "We cannot solve all of Egypt's problems during the transitional phase. We aim to build systems which can establish democracy," Hegazy said. Al-Assar said the soldier who ran over protestors in an armored vehicle was only trying to escape, seeing other armored vehicles burning around him as his colleagues were assaulted. “If that soldier deliberately ran over protestors, he would have killed tens, not only the six who died as a result of being run over," said al-Assar. "The Maspiro clashes were a tragedy,” said Hegazy, adding that a fact-finding committee will investigate the clashes. Hegazy said protesting is a legitimate right under the law. He also said policemen must respect citizens and vice versa. Al-Assar said the army is a national system which was built on principals. The soldiers who stood before Maspiro were protecting citizens, and they were assaulted. He added that the Copts were not the ones who assaulted the soldiers.
