Escalating State Violence in Egypt

By Taylor Marvin

My friend Natalie Fowler, who’s currently living in Cairo, has an informative account of the government violence that killed 24 mostly Christian Egyptians last weekend:

“Many in Egypt view this protest-turned-violent as the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces’ (SCAF’s), extension of Mubarak’s tactics: inciting sectarian strife in order to legitimize military rule over a country painted chaotic.

Suspicion was reinforced when interim Prime Minister Essam Sharaf criticized the demonstrators the next day. “Instead of advancing to build a modern state of democratic principles,” Sharaf said, “we are back searching for security and stability, worrying that there are hidden hands, both domestic and foreign, seeking to obstruct the will of Egyptians in establishing a democracy.”

With respect to intermittent unrest, such as Sunday’s violence, it’s the “hidden hands” of SCAF’s seditious tactics that threaten stability and self-determination for the Egyptian people.”