By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: In reaction to the military crackdown on protesters in Tahrir early Saturday, political groups were divided, with some calling for a presidential council and others warning against a rift between the army and the people.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) denied using live ammunition against protesters in Tahrir Square in a press conference on Saturday.
SCAF member, General Adel Umara, said that one fatality was reported among the protesters and 71 wounded. The initial autopsy showed that the protester was shot in the mouth, he added.
News agencies had reported two deaths during the raid on Tahrir Square early Saturday, citing medics.
Umara claimed that the people who stayed after curfew were thugs, not affiliated with the “honorable youth” who held the January 25 revolution.
“The safety and security of the armed forces is a red line that cannot be crossed,” he said. “The protesters kept on occupying Tahrir Square, hindering citizens’ business, which shows they don’t belong to the honorable Jan. 25 youth.”
Umara said that after the square was cleared from protesters at 4:30 am on Saturday, “a large number of “protesters came to Tahrir at 5:30 am with two automatic weapons and Molotov cocktails, and they attacked three military vehicles.”
He added that until those “thugs” entered the square with weapons, there were no fatalities in the square.
Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy leader, Rashad Al-Bayoumi, supported the SCAF statement, blaming the violence in Tahrir on “thugs” from the former ruling regime.
“It’s not like the people who sacrificed their lives to hold a peaceful revolution to allow violence like this to occur in Tahrir square,” Al-Bayoumi told Daily News Egypt
“We can’t give anyone the opportunity to jeopardize the unity between the people and the army. This is a matter of life and death to us,” he added.
Presidential hopeful and former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said on Twitter that, “Continued trust between army and people vital to national unity. Dialogue is the only option.”
“Road to stability: quick responses to legitimate demands, power sharing with civilians during transition, clear road map, starting national dialogue,” he added.
Umara said that the protesters dressed in military uniform were held hostage at one point in a protest camp by other protesters in Tahrir square, in a bid to exchange them for political detainees.
He added that military sources confirmed that there were people inside Tahrir affiliated with “a well known figure”, working against the revolution and attempting to divide the people and the army. He refused to elaborate.
An earlier army statement had named National Democratic Party member Ibrahim Kamal as responsible. His name was mentioned before in connection with the attack on protesters with camels and horses on Feb. 2. He was later arrested.
The generals called on the people to support the army in achieving stability in the country and to avoid rumors that would cause a rift between the people and the army.
Rifaat Al-Saeid, head of the leftist Tagammu Party said it was unclear where the truth lies as the army and the protesters have given contradictive accounts of the incident.
However, Al Saied said he was against holding sit-ins in Tahrir square indefinitely.
“The idea of an ongoing sit in is unacceptable and unbearable,” Al-Saied told DNE. “The curfew laws and the military forces must be respected.”
“Egypt’s military is the people’s only Fort and we shouldn’t provoke them or cause divisions between them and the people,” he said.
Many political powers reportedly agreed that they would not spend the night in Tahrir square and would suffice with participating in mass demonstrations during the day to preserve order and respect the curfew enforced by the army.
On the other hand, April 6 youth and youth for freedom of justice movements denied the army’s accusations saying that some of those detained from Tahrir were their friends and prominent political activists, not thugs.
“What happened brings back memories from the night of Jan 25, when the interior ministry forces used excessive force to disperse protesters with teargas and live bullets,” read a statement issued by April 6 youth movement on Saturday.
The movement called on the army to handover power to a presidential council and to prosecute ousted President Hosni Mubarak, his family and all prominent members of the former regime.
The Coalition of the Youth of the Revolution held a press conference on Sunday condemning the military crackdown on Tahrir square and voicing April 6 Movement’s demands.
“We will halt all negotiations with the army until those responsible for the violence that occurred in Tahrir are prosecuted,” Khaled El-Sayed, a member of the coalition and Youth for Justice and Freedom movement told DNE. “
Karima Al-Hifnawy, member of the National Association for Change and the Kefaya opposition movement agreed with the youth saying that the people’s frustration was a result of the army’s slow reactions to people’s demands to prosecute Mubarak, his family and the rest of the prominent figures of the former regime.
“This allows the thugs of the former regime to work against the revolution and attempt to thwart it,” she added.
Analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah, a researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Future and Strategic Studies agreed with Hifnawy saying that the violence that occurred was a result of the state of chaos and the military’s inability to manage the country.
“The military is part of the revolution and it gained its legitimacy from the people, that’s why it must heed to the people’s demands and preserve stability,” Abdel Fattah told DNE.
However, Al-Hifnawy was against military officers joining the people in Tahrir and demonstrating against Filed Marshal Mohamed Tantawi.
Eight people claiming to be army officers dressed in uniform, joined tens of thousands of protestors in Tahrir Square on Friday, calling for the resignation of Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi and the prosecution of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
The officers showed their military ID cards to the people in Tahrir Square to prove that they were not imposters and that they were still in military service.
“If the officers have a problem, they should go to their superiors in the military not join civilians in Tahrir square,” Al-Hifnawy said.
The Supreme Council For Armed Forces (SCAF) stated in a press conference on Saturday that the eight people were detained and under investigation, but the council couldn’t confirm whether they were in-fact military or merely imposters.
Mohamed Sarhan, member of Al Wafd Party’s executive bureau said that the people dressed in military uniforms were the reason that caused the violence as well as “thugs” from the former regime.
“I understand the protesters need to protect the officers who joined them if they are in-fact military officers,” Sarhan told DNE. “However it’s against the law for military officers to join civilians in the square; they’re supposed to protect them without getting involved.”
Sarhan called on the army to have patience and restraint in dealing with protesters.
Umara stressed that the army soldiers didn’t use force against the protesters and dispersed the crowds “peacefully” at 3 am to enforce a three-hour predawn curfew from 2 am to 5 am. The army had sent many warnings to the protesters in Tahrir square to leave before curfew, but to no avail, he added.
Thousands of protesters closed off Tahrir square with barbed wire on Saturday and demanded the removal of SCAF, outraged by the military’s overnight raid on the protesters.
General Ismail Etman, director of morale affairs sector and a member of the SCAF Etman said that the square would be cleared from the remaining protesters “with all force and decisiveness” for life to get back to normal. However, hundreds of protesters remained in the square Sunday morning.
Etman said that 42 were detained from Tahrir on Saturday including three foreigners and protesters dressed in military uniform.
Ahmed Ragheb, lawyer and head of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, told Daily News Egypt that 11 detainees were released on Sunday.
Ragheb added that the army didn’t state the fate of the rest of the detainees who are charged with breaking the curfew.
