Despite claims by Muslim Brotherhood MPs and human rights groups that the army used excessive force to disperse a one-week sit-in close to the Defence Ministry in Cairo, public opinion has largely supported the move, reports Khaled Dawoud There were plenty of signs that the one-week standoff in the Abbasiya neigbourhood of Cairo between army soldiers and the mostly Islamist supporters of ousted presidential candidate Sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail was heading towards a bloody confrontation on Friday, 4 May. Responding to widely reported calls for a "final Friday" or a "Friday of the great march" towards the Defence Ministry to demand an immediate end to military rule, three senior army generals and members of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) issued a stern warning a day before that there would be a price to pay if anyone dared to come close to the "lion's den". Only two days earlier, in the early hours of Wednesday, 1 May, groups of so-called "thugs" armed with guns, knives and machetes had attacked the few hundred protesters who had started a sit-in and blocked Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun Street where several key institutions are located, including Ain Shams University and Hospital, and, further down the street, the heavily fortified Defence Ministry. At least 11 mostly young men were killed, some by bullets and others by knife wounds. Supporters of Abu Ismail, joined later by several small leftist and anarchist groups, demanded the dissolution of the Presidential Elections Commission (PEC), which had issued the ruling to exclude Abu Ismail from the presidential race along with nine others and the annulment of Article 28 of the interim constitution which made it impossible to appeal the PEC's rulings. Horror stories were told of how one unidentified man used a machine gun to shoot dead at least six of the 11 men reported killed that morning. Eyewitnesses recalled how the so-called "thugs", and reportedly also some Abbasiya residents, had chased ambulances and raided nearby hospitals to continue attacks against the wounded protesters. Heavily armed army and anti-riot police units only a few hundred metres away and protecting the Defence Ministry refused to intervene, allegedly so that they would not be charged with taking sides. Residents of buildings in side streets close to Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun Street said that "bearded men", a reference to Abu Ismail supporters, had attacked them with knives and guns, and that at least four Abbasiya residents had been killed. However, most observers believe that whatever sympathy the protesters had started to gather after the bloody attack against them was largely lost due to widely circulated calls by radical Islamist and leftist groups to march towards the Defence Ministry on Friday and impose a siege around it. The majority of Egyptians, according to recent opinion polls, continue to think highly of the army and see it as the only remaining security force that can provide security amid the chaotic situation that has prevailed since the removal of former president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Hassan Abul-Ashbal, a radical Salafi scholar known for his support for Abu Ismail, went so far as to call for the protesters to "raid the headquarters of the SCAF at the Defence Ministry, arrest all 19 members and execute them" if they refused to end their rule. All the protesters interviewed by Al-Ahram Weekly vehemently denied that they had had any intention to attack the Defence Ministry, but stressed their right to demonstrate close to it because they held the SCAF responsible for the troubles the country has been going through since Mubarak's removal. Yet, statements made by Abul-Ashbal in a telephone interview with an Islamist satellite television channel were widely used by the Egyptian state-owned media, which is close to the SCAF, including the television and radio, to portray the protesters in Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun Street as "arsonists" who wanted to destroy the state and its symbols. Making the situation worse for the protesters was a surprise visit to their sit-in by the brother of one of the most-wanted terrorist suspects in the world. Mohamed El-Zawahri, brother of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman El-Zawahri, was in jail for nearly 12 years in Egypt, and he had only been released two months ago in an amnesty when he visited Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun Street surrounded by a small group of men covering their faces and dressed in Pakistani clothes and carrying black flags that are a trademark of Al-Qaeda. As the visit coincided with the first anniversary of the US assassination of the late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, El-Zawahri's entourage chanted "take a photograph of us Obama, we are all Osama," referring to US President Barack Obama's role in ordering Bin Laden's assassination. El-Zawahri later issued a statement denying his involvement in any calls to attack the Defence Ministry, insisting that he had gone there to express his sympathy to the friends and relatives of the 11 people killed on 1 May. Amid such heated exchanges between the two sides, Friday 4 May was bound to witness a showdown. At the entrance of Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun Street, young, bearded men checked the identities and searched anyone who wanted to go beyond their roughly constructed barricades made up of thin tin sheets torn from nearby construction projects. In the middle of the street and in front of the entrance to Ain Shams University, hundreds of men sat on the ground listening to the Friday sermon delivered by a young Al-Azhar scholar. "Article 28 must be annulled. It is part of a conspiracy against Islam," he said, without explanation. "The SCAF must dissolve the PEC and ban [former prime minister Ahmed] Shafik from running as a candidate. We cannot allow the symbols of the corrupt former regime to run for president on 23 May." As soon as the prayers ended, the mostly young men and a few women marched down the street to the barbed wire and barricades established by the soldiers. Army tanks and other armoured vehicles stood on the other side of the wire, confirming that no protester would be allowed to get close to the Defence Ministry at least a kilometre away. When the Weekly arrived on the scene, the soldiers were fortifying their lines by adding more barbed wire, while cursed and insulted by the protesters on the other side. "I will soon join the army, but I will never act like you and stand against the people," shouted one young protester. Others repeated obscene words aimed at provoking the soldiers. When a bearded elderly man arrived with a huge poster showing SCAF commander Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi carrying Mubarak as a baby, the protesters carried him on their shoulders and started chanting "the belly dancer has arrived", and "down with military rule". As the standoff continued, the protesters were joined by more demonstrators, who came from mosques in other parts of Cairo to show their solidarity. The soldiers on the other side of the barbed wire were clearly willing to risk a confrontation, and a few uniformed soldiers held video cameras in their hands and started filming the protesters. One soldier climbed a tree, lit a cigarette, and started mocking the protesters while filming them. When the chanting got louder, an army car with a loudspeaker drove up to the front line and started playing nationalist songs. The protesters laughed and chanted "the field marshal has gone crazy." There were some efforts by bearded young men to calm the protesters and to keep them away from the barbed wire, though this was difficult. "They want to damage our reputation. They claim we want to attack the Defence Ministry. Let's keep the protest peaceful," said one man as he tried to convince a protester not to jump over the barbed wire. However, this was all the soldiers needed to start their clampdown against the protesters. As soon as the young man managed to cross the barbed wire, he was immediately arrested by military police and dragged and beaten all over his body. It only took a few seconds for rocks, already prepared by the protesters to defend themselves in possible clashes with thugs or soldiers, to start flying towards the army and anti-riot police units. These responded by firing water cannons from fire engines on standby and heavy rounds of tear gas. In less than an hour, Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun Street was empty of protesters, army and police soldiers chasing them down to Abbasiya Square where the Nour Mosque is located. Eyewitnesses and human rights groups said that the soldiers had gone inside the mosque without taking their shoes off, obligatory in Islamic tradition, and arrested protesters and journalists. However, a video released by the army's public affairs unit showed men hiding inside the minaret of the mosque and shooting at army and police soldiers. The same video showed the soldiers climbing the minaret and arresting two men. At least one soldier was shot dead, according to military statements, and hundreds were injured, including dozens of army and police soldiers. Joint units made up of the military police, anti-riot Interior Ministry soldiers and so-called "honourable citizens", mainly residents of Abbasiya, also arrested and beat at least 300 protesters and 20 journalists. All of those arrested were referred for questioning by military prosecutors, adding to the anger of their colleagues who believe that civilians should not face military trials. A few dozen activists who gathered in front of the military prosecutor's office on Saturday to demand the release of the detainees were also beaten up and dispersed by soldiers. Field Marshal Tantawi personally took part in the funeral of the soldier killed in Friday's clashes, and he also visited those wounded in hospital. Residents of Abbasiya meanwhile celebrated the end of the sit-in and the blockage of Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun Street, which had turned their lives into a nightmare. A widely circulated video on YouTube shows a soldier dancing to traditional music to the cheers and support of residents. Many commentators warned that the SCAF would now use the recent clashes to push public opinion further against the 25 January Revolution and to limit demands for supervision of the army's budget and activities. The Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), has meanwhile criticised the clampdown by the army on the Abbasiya protesters. The Brotherhood, also angry at the SCAF and the PEC for excluding their first choice candidate for the presidency, Khairat El-Shatter, had held a protest in Tahrir Square on Friday, but refused to respond to calls to join the sit-in near the Defence Ministry. Like many other political forces, including those most critical of the SCAF, the Brotherhood is aware that the majority of public opinion did not support the escalation of the protests in Abbasiya and the threats to lay siege to the Defence Ministry, even if these threats were fabricated.
