Thousands of protesters clash with security forces in Shubra

By Heba Afify

CAIRO: Thousands of protesters clashed with police on Monday night as they tried to reach a sit-in that took place in front of the Virgin Church in Shubra to denounce the Alexandria church bombing.

Eight protesters were arrested and currently face charges of assault on police officers, damaging cars, crowding, and shouting to stir unrest.

Ahmed Ragheb, the head of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, told Daily News Egypt that the defendants’ lawyers were not allowed to review the case or to contact them. Activists are planning a sit-in in front of the Prosecutor General’s office to demand their release.

Hundreds of people who gathered for an open sit-in in front of the Virgin Church were surrounded by police and were prevented from leaving the area for five hours. Police also blocked the street to prevent thousands of protesters from joining them.

The police also trapped a small group of 30 activists in a security cordon to prevent them from joining the sit-in, and didn’t release them until 2 am — two hours after the protest was dispersed.

Journalist Sarah Carr describes on her “Inanities” blog that the protesters and the police threw rocks at each other on Shubra Street after protesters started pounding on the sides of a bus filled with passengers.
According to Carr, violence escalated when the protesters tried to enter the side street leading to the church, which was blocked by security.

Protesters were able to successfully push through one security cordon, but were met by violence when they reached another one.

As protesters threw rocks at the security officers blocking their path, the other group of protestors inside the cordon in front of the church called out to the police to allow the rest to join them.

MENA news agency reported that two officers and 12 policemen were injured in the clashes.

Clashes also broke out between security forces and those inside the cordon, as several protesters threw rocks and bottles of paint at security forces when they were prevented from leaving. Police responded by attacked them with batons, causing injuries to more than 10 protesters inside the cordon.

Protesters then urged their colleagues to stop the violence, telling police that they didn’t want to create any trouble and that they only wanted to leave the cordon peacefully.

“This is a peaceful sit-in, but the people were provoked by the government,” said Nermeen Khafaga, member of the “We are all Copts” movement that organized the sit-in. “We are not troublemakers. We are only demanding our rights.”

Police removed Khafaga from the sit-in protest by force, which stirred mild clashes between security forces and the protesters who demanded she be allowed to return.

Khafaga said that the police let her go after her screams attracted the attention of a Christian family that was walking by at the time. She added that when she tried to return to the sit-in, she was trapped in a police cordon alongside 30 other activists until 2 am.

Karima El Hefnawy, a Kefaya Movement activist, was also trapped in the security cordon while trying to reach the sit-in, and she stated that Monday’s events have dangerous indications.

According to El Hefnawy, the police officers let the Christians out of the cordon, while the remaining 15 Muslim protesters were trapped there for a long time.

El Hefnawy stated that such practices by the security forces may lead to future friction between Muslims and Christians.

Coptic Priest Yohana Michel addressed the people at the end of the sit-in, urging them to refrain from violence. Michel’s sentiments of non-violence echoed those made by Pope Shenouda III during a Monday interview on Egyptian television.

“We don’t manage our affairs by violence and protests,” said Michel. “You have to [be wary of] the people planted [amongst] you trying to stir violence.”

El Hefnawy condemned the priest’s advice and said that she salutes those who are protesting against the will of the state and the church.

“This is a dangerous tone,” El Hefnawy said. “They are trying to calm the situation down in the wrong way; a way that can lead to divisions within society.”

The “We are all Copts” protesters demanded the dismissal of the Minister of Interior, the Governor of Alexandria, and the Head of Security of Alexandria. The protesters also called for both the ratification of a unified law for constructing places of worship, and the execution of those responsible for the Nagaa Hammadi massacre that resulted in the deaths of eight Copts and one Muslim.

Khafaga stated that — even tough the sit-in was dispersed because of clashes with security forces — the “We are all Copts” movement is determined to organize more protests until its demands are met.

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Christians, joined by Muslims, demonstrated together in the mixed working class district of Shubra on Jan. 3 to condemn the New Year’s Eve car bomb attack on a Coptic church in Alexandria. (AFP PHOTO/STR)