Military coup is a ‘cancer’ eating away at Egypt

It’s a revolution against another military coup in Egypt, and it is ridiculous that we have to wait for the US to recognize it as a coup for the whole world to say that it is, British Egyptians for Democracy’s spokesperson Fatima Said told RT.

RT:The footage that we have seen is quite dramatic. There are scores of tanks on the streets and officers who have been given the right to shoot, but despite all that, people are pledging to come out on the streets and protest. What’s driving their resolve?

Fatima Sayid: One of your reporters has said that this is a Muslim Brotherhood protest. I would totally disagree with that and say what we are seeing in Egypt today is a spontaneous movement. It is the second wave of the Egyptian revolution. This is an Egyptian revolution, this revolution has no leader. We are coming out angry at the humiliation, the slaughter that we are experiencing at the hands of the military, our demands are very clear. We want an end to this brutal military rule and we will do this in a peaceful way. The strength of our revolution lies in its peaceful path. We will not attack anyone; we are simply here exercising our democratic rights.

RT:As we can see the country is deeply divided now. What about current leaders? What they have done today?

FS: What we have seen with regards of military actions is an indiscriminate slaughter, massacre of innocent men, women and children, cannot be justified in any way, shape or form. These are crimes against humanity and it must end. This is what we are calling for. What is happening in Egypt is not clashes, it is not a civil war. It is one side, the military and the police using unjustified and unnecessary force against the other.

RT:Whoever is responsible, do you think they are likely to answer for their actions and be brought to justice?

FS: We have seen that the military has denied any responsibility. They have actually congratulated their forces for showing restraint. For them showing restraint is killing and injuring thousands of innocent protesters. Let’s make this absolutely clear. The attacks on the Egyptians that we have seen, the attacks on the places of worship, the killing of Egyptians, there is only one side responsible for that and that is the military. General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and all those who actually support him and stay silent about his crimes are responsible for every single drop of blood shed.

RT:Washington is retaining its ties with the country but warns that more violence by the army could jeopardize that relationship. Where is that red line? There have already been thousands of deaths.

FS: It is quite shameful to see countries, leaders of Western governments who hail themselves as beacons of democracy, supporting the slaughter of democracy and its supporters in Egypt. What Obama came out and said yesterday is simply not enough. This is what the Obama’s 1.5 billion in subsidies to the army buys; the slaughter of innocent people. The army may have pulled the trigger yes, but it was the West that loaded the gun and the West must take active stands against this. It’s not too late to side with democracy in Egypt. They must come out; they must reject what is happening in Egypt. These cosmetic diplomatic maneuvers of calling ambassadors and the tepid statements, they are not enough. We are talking about people dying and a revolution. This is a revolution and they must [take a] side. The world must come together and side with those who have been oppressed in Egypt.

RT:We’ve heard some condemnations from the Western countries coming out from the US for what happened in Egypt. Can we expect these countries to actually go beyond just words?

FS: They must. [Otherwise history will write] The West has sided with the oppressors. The West owes it to the Egyptian people, after supporting Mubarak’s dictatorship for decades. They owe it to them to support them in this revolution and this is a revolution. That is what we are seeing today. Thousands, millions of Egyptians are coming out on the street and protesting against this bloody military coup. It is ridiculous that we have to wait for the US to recognize this as a coup for the whole world to say that it is. We must take an active stands against this.

RT:What will bring the country together? There has to be a way to bring these parties together and make them sit down and talk.

FS: You are asking for a solution and the solution is very simple. You have to look at what caused the problem and the thing that caused the problem, the thing that caused the slaughters, the thing that makes millions come out on the streets today is the military coup. If you want a solution you must get rid of the problem. You must get rid of the disease, the real cancer in the country, and that is the military coup. That is the only way you will reach reconciliation. This is a point of no return.

We are talking about families who have their loved once cruelly snatched away from them. We are talking about people being burned alive. Those responsible must be brought to justice. This military coup must end. I just want to point out, the army and the police have been deployed all the streets in Egypt. They have blocked all the roads, all the major squares. They have blocked them against peaceful protesters who wanted to come out and explain their voice. What are they scared of? Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly is a right guaranteed to every single human being, every free citizen of the world under international treaties. What is the army afraid of? This is a revolution, they must allow people to protest peacefully and that is what they want to do.