Tahrir Square protesters killed by live ammunition, say doctors

cyberhog

Human Rights Watch have accused Egypt's military rulers of authorising the use of live ammo against pro-democracy protesters.

According to morgue officials, at least 22 Egyptians have been killed by live bullets since street battles began on Saturday, directly contradicting government statements that security forces have never opened fire on protesters.

One hospital doctor told the Guardian he had personally seen 10 patients struck by live ammunition during the protests that have swept Egypt in the past six days, six of whom did not survive.

"Many of the fatalities were as a result of a single shot to the head," said Hesham Ashraf, of Qasr el-Aini hospital, one of central Cairo's largest medical facilities. Autopsies on 12 other bodies confirm live ammunition as the cause of death, including some cases where the bullet was clearly shot from a height, suggesting the possible involvement of army or police snipers.

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"Time and time again the military has insisted that it has not used live ammunition against protesters, as if it is somehow not responsible for the riot police operating under military command and control," said Sarah Leah Witson of Human Rights Watch, which has investigated the killings. "It is irrelevant whether the live ammunition came from the riot police or the military police. What is relevant is who gave the orders to shoot live bullets on protesters, and when they will be prosecuted for it."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/24/tahrir-square-protesters-killed-ammunition?newsfeed=true


Amnesty have also accused the SCAF of serious human rights violations.

the human rights group said the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) in Egypt had "failed completely" to live up to promises on safeguarding human rights.

By using military courts to try thousands of civilians, cracking down on peaceful protest and expanding the remit of Mubarak's Emergency Law, the Council had continued "the tradition of repressive rule" which the demonstrators fought so hard to get rid of, said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Acting Director.


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After nine months of military rule, the aims and aspirations of the Egyptian revolution had been "crushed," said Amnesty. "The brutal and heavy-handed response to protests in the last few days bears all the hallmarks of the Mubarak era," the statement said.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/amnesty-international-human-rights-abuses-in-egypt-worse-than-under-mubarak-1.397022

Tantawi has tried to counter criticism by accusing the protesters of trying to undermine trust between the people and their armed forces but the real reason people have taken to the streets is over fears the military is intent on maintaining its grip on power.

The military,... has reneged on pledges of a speedy handover of power to civilian rule and tried to dictate a set of constitutional principles that would preserve sweeping powers for the military in any future government.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204443404577051982424428846.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLENewsIntl


And while the U.S. calls the violence "deplorable" the truth is Obama would be only too happy if the military could maintain it's grip on power.

[T]he Obama administration considered [the military] a partner that it hoped would help secure American interests.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/world/middleeast/facing-calls-to-give-up-power-egypts-military-battles-crowds.html

It just shows as long as U.S. interests are served, Americans don't really care who they ally themselves with.

AlekSmart

Odd little Clip on Sky News (?) last night.

Reporter and crew at a location not far from Tahir Square where incredibly enough Egyptian folks were doin stuff other than protesting..like making Bus journeys to the shops,standin around yappin or drinkin coffee...

Things then turned a bit purple when the plain-people of Egypt turned on the Western Reporter in a somehat threatening manner accusing him and his crew of fermenting trouble ....?

Cue the somewhat rapid departure of the News Team.

Don't quite know what to make of it,except that the Egyptians captured on-camera appeared to be plain ordinary and largely calm until our Media lads set-up-stall to record a largely untroubled day in Cario.....?

It put me in mind of driving through Belfast many years ago as huge rioting took place "over the other way" and being able to buy tea and sausage butty and eat it on the side of the road in peace and quiet.....bizzarre or what..?

wes

Appaling behaviour form the Egyptian military over the last few days. They should do as the people want and return to there barracks, and hold electiosn imho.

cyberhog

Tens of thousands of Egyptians were in Tahrir Square yesterday. I think this is a fair sample of the mood of the crowds.

Newspaper columnist Mona Anis, who deferred a trip to Alexandria to be in Tahrir, says Egyptians from all backgrounds “are divided over many issues but not human dignity. We are no longer prepared to take it lying down.

“We want social justice. Nine months have passed and we’re back to square one. The military uses the same phrases, the same words as Mubarak. We are suf- fering from deja vu.”

"We want the army to leave. It is incapable of managing this transition period," said Olaa Moustafa, 40.

"They won't scare us, we will die for our country and what we believe in," said Fathia Alaa, 48, who was in Tahrir along with her nine-year-old daughter Omnia.

ElBaradei joined Friday prayers in Tahrir and offered his condolences to the martyrs' families. He then went to visit the injured in field hospitals around Tahrir.

"I didn't come today for political campaigning, but I came to stand beside the revolutionaries, stress their demands and offer condolences to the families of the martyrs," said ElBaradei in a statement issued by his campaign.

"We won't waste the rights of the martyrs and together we shall prevail," he added.

In the afternoon, thousands marched from Moustafa Mahmoud Mosque to Tahrir, chanting "Legitimacy comes from the square," and "No to the military and Ganzoury.”

"I'm not ideological and I don't care about politics, but you don't have to be political to know that when rulers decide to kill their own people, their time is up and they have to leave," said Ahmed Kandil, a 23-year-old business consultant who joined the anti-Scaf rally. "What I've realised this week is that right now thousands and thousands of people are speaking out against these massacres, and collectively we are roaring."

"This protest is more important than 25 January [the start of the anti-Mubarak uprising]," argued Mohamed Nabeel Elmasry, one of several volunteers who helped protect the medical facilities from being swamped by the crowds. "I live in New Jersey and haven't been back to Egypt for 20 years, but I came today because we had promises from the military council and those promises were broken. We're a trusting people and we gave them a chance, even though they felt like an extension of the old regime. And then through action after action after action, they showed us we were wrong."