by Boaz Bismuth
It's
reasonable to assume that had the Cairo court president consulted not
with his fellow judges but with the judges on the field — soccer
referees — he would have ruled differently and would not handed down
death sentences to 21 soccer fans involved in the bloody riots during
the match between Port Said club Al-Masri and Egyptian club Al-Ahly on
Feb. 1, 2012. Seventy-four people died in the game, in the Egyptian port
city — a true massacre.
It would not have been
completely foolish for the authorities to postpone the sentencing,
instead of handing down a ruling in a trial that for two months took
place behind closed doors (another factor behind the people's rage),
especially in light of the prevailing tension in the country as it marks
two years since the revolution that overthrew then President Hosni
Mubarak.
A referee would have
perhaps reminded the court president just how much power the soccer
fanatics ("Ultras") have in Egypt, especially those from the two teams
involved in the riots. We must remember that this was the biggest
tragedy in Egyptian soccer history. The fans were also deemed
responsible for the outcome, not just the security forces and the
governing authorities (then the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces)
that were shockingly ineffectual at controlling the incident.
The judge should have
remembered that during the riots in Tahrir Square that led to Mubarak's
downfall, the Ultras also played an important role, specifically Al-Ahly
supporters. The judge must have witnessed the significant influence
they wielded in the square. Yet it wasn't only the judge who should have
been aware of this, President Mohammed Morsi should have known as well.
It's rather ironic that
the new regime sought to show the Egyptian people that the rule of law
triumphs all else, and that it wasn't afraid to convict security
personnel or a gang of rioters. The severe sentence — death penalties
for 21 people involved in the mayhem — in essence only intensified the
already volatile situation. Not only was the timing problematic, but so
too were the punishments.
Soccer fans are being
sent to the gallows, while the sentencing of nine members of the
security forces has been postponed until a later date.
Egypt, two years after
Mubarak's fall, is an extremely fragile and unstable place. The country
is on the verge of political, social and mainly economic chaos. The
Muslim Brotherhood may have conquered the government almost naturally,
but it didn't conquer the streets with quite as much ease. The liberal
opposition that toppled the Mubarak regime isn't ready to rule, but it
is very experienced when it comes to protests — on its resume, it has
even a deposed dictatorship. The Brotherhood is also expected to win the
scheduled parliamentary elections, if they are ever held, in April,
although it's unclear what price it will pay.
This isn't what the
Brotherhood had in mind when it dismissed the Supreme Council of the
Armed Forces from power and decided, like a mature adult, to run the
country on its own. The Muslim Brotherhood had waited for its moment
since 1928, but lost patience. It wanted everything (the presidency, a
majority in parliament, a new constitution), and quickly. The military
forgave Morsi for the power grab. In return, however, it requested
stability for the sake of its economic interests.
Those sentenced to
death this weekend can appeal, of course. In Egypt a death sentence
isn't final until it receives a stamp of approval from the Grand Mufti
of Egypt, Ali Gomaa, who is the country's highest religious authority.
Such approval is usually a mere formality. It could very well be that
this time the Brotherhood will ask the mufti, who isn't a big supporter
of fanatics, to intervene.
Gomaa is against
violence and bloodshed. He only supports violence, in his words, when it
comes in the form of suicide bombings against Israel — because
"Palestine is a special case."
Gomaa needs to understand that Egypt today is several times more violent than "Palestine."
Boaz Bismuth
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=3326
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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