Politicos slam SCAF for lax security, poor administration

At least 75 have died and hundreds injured Cairo – Akram Ali The Board of Trustees of the Revolution on Thursday, accused those they described as “remnants of the dissolved National Democratic Party” and loyalists to the former regime of being responsible for the tragic incidents following Al-Ahly and Al-Masry football match at Port Said Stadium on Wednesday, which resulted in 75 deaths and hundreds injured.
The board, which includes several revolutionary and youth movements and coalitions, announced its denunciation of any form of violence, considering what happened in Port Said sheer continuity to the series of conspiracy acts aiming to “set Egypt on fire” and spread chaos, in order to “re-produce the former regime.”
The statement called on the authorities running the country in the transitional period to assume responsibility over security and stability in Egypt. It also urged revolutionary forces and football fans, who call themselves ‘Ultras’, to exercise restraint and to not take to the streets, in order to “avoid being dragged” to more violence, which could be the main target of some remnants of the former regime.
The main cause of death was a smashed skull, and most of the dead are “young men”, according to the head of the Port Said General Hospital Hassan Al-Essnawy  Some players were also injured during the attack.
Violence flared between fans of both teams after Port Said’s local team Al-Masry won the match 3-1, and stormed the pitch to chase off Al-Ahly players. Angry fans congregated outside Al-Ahly's ground to protest against the Interior Ministry and the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) for what they felt was a major lapse of security at the stadium.
Political forces issued a statement early Thursday stressing the need to prosecute all those in charge. They called on the parliament to withdraw confidence from the government, and to hold SCAF accountable in addition to expediting the presidential elections.

SCAF later announced sending two military planes to transfer Al-Ahly players, fans, and the wounded from Port Said back to Cairo, whereas newly elected parliamentary Speaker Saad Katatni called for an emergency session on Thursday morning to investigate the incident and discuss its repercussions. The Speaker also suggested that the session should not be televised, provoking angry arguments in parliament.
Katatni described the violence as a "massacre" and blamed the lack of security at the Port Said ground.
Eyewitnesses told ‘Arabstoday’ that Al-Ahly fans held banners that provoked Al-Masry fans, which led the latter to attack the former after the match. Meanwhile, TV showed security forces from the Interior and the army standing idly by, without attempting to actively intervene or stop the clashes.
Al-Ahly players said that police and armed forces were nowhere to be seen during or after the clashes. Rumours were circulating that the Al-Masry fans, who initiated the attack after the match, were allegedly preventing the ambulances from entering the stadium for an hour and half.
A makeshift medical unit was established in the Al-Ahly locker room, where the fans and players took shelter from the attack. The head of the Ahly club said the locker room turned into a morgue where people were dying as a result of a lack of medical assistance.
Ahly TV showed split screen footage of the clashes beginning and riot police, armed with shields, standing in a tunnel without intervening. Many accused security of “allowing” the violence and even “planning” it ahead.
Activists on social networks, along with several Al-Ahly fans, accused the Interior and the army of seeking revenge from the Ultras, hardcore Al-Ahly fans, who had played a major role in the popular protests throughout the revolution, by planning football violence after the match. They backed-up their claim by stating that the governor of Port Said and the city’s Head of Security did not attend a match in the city’s stadium for the first time, which may prove that they had an idea about the day's events.
Activists and Al-Ahly fans believed it to be “unreasonable” that fans of the winning team would attack their rivals, and were more inclined to believe that the clashes were plotted by SCAF and security, who assumed that Al-Ahly would win the match and the attack on the fans of the winning team would be inevitable.
Others who refuse to believe in conspiracy theories stated that the chaos and absence of security, even if it not premeditated, was enough to condemn the Interior Ministry and SCAF, as security forces stood idly while fans beat each other to death, as seen on TV.
Security officials said the ministry has issued directives to its personnel not to "engage" with civilians after recent clashes between police and protesters in November left more than 40 people dead.
MP Osama Yasin, head of the Youth and Sports Committee, stated that he would not just discuss the match, but the state of chaos in Egypt which “seeks destroying the revolution”.
The President of the Egyptian Football Association Samir Zaher meanwhile announced the domestic league has been postponed “indefinitely”, and may even be cancelled following the violence in Port Said, with the death toll still on the rise.
A football game in Cairo Stadium between the Al-Ismailiya and Zamalek teams was also called off in mourning for the violence in Port Said.
The military council in the meantime issued a communiqué on Facebook announcing “a national three-day mourning period” across Egypt following the events at the Port Said stadium, while offering condolences to the families of the victims.
The statement also said  a fact-finding committee was to be formed to investigate the incident, adding that all involved elements would be put to trial. Al Jazeera news reported that over 50 people were already arrested by Thursday afternoon, while the Suez governor was to be questioned.
 Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood , which saw an electoral victory in the recently held elections, claimed that the Port Said violence was the doing of an “invisible” foreign hand.
“This confirms that there is invisible planning that is behind this unjustified massacre. The authorities have been negligent,” the group said in a statement on its website.
“We fear that some officers are punishing the people for their revolution and for depriving them of their ability to act as tyrants and restricting their privileges,” it added.
The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, claimed police forces were involved in the incidents as they could have prevented the violence or intervened, but instead stood idly watching people get killed.
“The security vacuum continues, the police officers are punishing us for revolting,” Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan said in a television interview in the late hours of Wednesday.
The Justice Party (Al-Adl) also demanded the resignation of the Ministry of Interior, the governor of Port Said, and the Port Said Security Chief. In addition, they demanded the immediate resignation of the Prime Minister and his government.
The party in a statement on Thursday siad that the lack of security spread in the past few days in Egypt, including bank robberies, kidnappings, and terrorising of citizens and tourists, could not be separated from the Port Said incidents, the lifting of the Emergency Law, and the SCAF's poor administration of the country. The FJP cited the same examples. The Justice Party highlighted the importance of quick power-transfer to a civilian government.
The FJP published a statement calling on SCAF to take all necessary measures to prosecute those involved, saying that what happened was "more than just football riots, but rather was a deliberate scheme aiming to cause sedition among Egyptians".
“These acts have indeed emerged clearly after the completion of parliamentary elections, which was a major shift for the Egyptian revolution. This points to treacherous hands, which are no longer hidden, intent on forcing Egypt into chaos and destruction,” the FJP statement added.
“These are, evidently, the handiwork of domestic parties and dubious forces that still have strong ties with the former regime, which manages the sabotage scheme from the cells of Tora prison,” it noted.
Victims' families called for a million-man rally, to start from Tahrir Square and head to Tora Prison, storm it and execute regime remnants held inside for the sake of retribution.
Dozens of ‘Al-Ahly Ultras’ (hardcore fans), who include youth ranging from 15 to 20 years of age, rallied in Tahrir Square on Thursday morning, repeating angry chants against Field Marshal Husein Tantawi, SCAF and the Ministry of Interior, demanding the retribution for the victims.
A frequently repeated chant was “we either get their rights or die like them”, emphasising that they had no intention to back down until "justice was served".
The numbers in Tahirir were expected to increase in the afternoon, as Ultras intend to organise a march to the Ministry of Interior, in proximity to the Square.
The young fans and families held the Al-Ahly flag and a large black flag, in mourning of the victims’ lives.
For his part, former Chief of the UN Nuclear Watchdog Agency Mohamed El-Baradei called for the immediate restructure of the security forces in Egypt, considering any delay in the process a “crime”.
El-Baradei condemned, on his Twitter page, the violence in Port Said and the lack of proper official action.
Presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail called on the parliament to form a new government, emerging from political forces within the parliament, noting that even if the government was not fully efficient, it would at least work on the quick power-transfer to a civilian government that represented the revolution and end SCAF rule.
Abu Ismail stated that the SCAF was now held accountable before the people for the recent events.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim decided to transfer the Port Said Security Chief Adel Samak to the ministry’s offices, after initial investigations established his failure in containing the incidents.