9/5/2012

On Friday, May 4, the chaos in Abbasiya reached its peak after five days of demonstrations by Hazem Abu Ismail supporters protesting his disqualification from the presidential election. The protestors blocked the streets leading to the Ministry of Defense and advanced on it, throwing stones.

Earlier, ONTV broadcast a video showing men hiding inside the minaret of Abbasiya’s Nour mosque and shooting at the soldiers and military police protecting the area around the ministry. It appears that this was also the scene of the assassination of military conscript Samir Anwar Samir.

I was stunned that the soldiers and military police deployed in the area did not intervene to stop the clashes in the first 24 hours. However, on Friday night, the SCAF finally took decisive action to restore order by imposing a curfew in Abbasiya and confronting the violent protestors.

An investigation into Hazem Abu Ismail and his supporters regarding their responsibility for the violence and other criminal act should be a top priority. And I look forward to the day that I wake up and find that Abu Ismail has disappeared from the scene forever. He has taken far too much of our time and attention and his presence has caused nothing but trouble.

It occurs to me that none of the protestors are chanting to save the national economy from collapse, which is inevitable if we do not give absolute priority to the return of stability and security. Egypt’s security and its economy are inseparable and the armed forces and SCAF must achieve both before they leave office.

translated from Al-Akhbar