Port Said football disaster exposes political vacuum left by revolution

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/02/port-said-football-disaster-revolution

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The deaths of 74 fans at a football match in the Egyptian town of Port Said has highlighted the impact that politics has had on other aspects of life in post-revolution Egypt since last year's uprising.

The violence was a reminder of the deteriorating security situation in the Arab world's most populous country as instability continues nearly a year after the former president Hosni Mubarak was swept out of power in a popular uprising.

The removal of the police and their replacement with the military has left security stretched, with many police officers refusing to return to work after the revolution.

Following live television footage which showed images of security forces standing idly by as fans of Port Said's local team, al-Masry, stormed the pitch to chase al-Ahly players, angry fans congregated outside al-Ahly's ground to protest against the ministry of the interior and the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) for what they felt was a major lapse of security at the stadium.

They had watched the pitch invasion after al-Masry had won the game 3-1, and the ensuing scuffles when players fled to dressing rooms for safety.

The supporters in the stand ran into the narrow exits at the top of the stand and it is believed that the majority of the deaths were a result of the ensuing stampede.

Some believe the violence was intrinsically linked to the political situation. One al-Ahly supporter outside the club, Khaled Gad, told the Guardian: "There is a strong political connection. What happened today was not just about trouble at a football match, it's related to other events in the country."

He was referring to the recent removal of Egypt's longstanding emergency law with the exception of "thuggery" and recent statements by the interior minister Mohamed Yusuf of the need to keep the extraordinary powers it provides to handle recent crime-related incidents.

A spate of recent incidents show an alarming lapse in the security situation in Egypt, such as the armed holdup of a HSBC bank branch in broad daylight – an almost unheard of event – and the hijacking of armoured cars as they transported money.

Another fan, Mahmoud Kamel, said, "Where was the security? And where were the clubs and governorate representatives who always attend this game. This is a huge rivalry and they're always in attendance, but they weren't this time."

Kamel insisted that the cause of the catastrophe was the chant against Scaf rule by al-Ahly's group of supporters known as the Ultras at a previous game. The Ultras of al-Ahly and arch-rival Zamalek played prominent roles in the 18-day uprising that spelled the end of Mubarak's rule and the violence raised fresh concerns about the ability of the state police to manage crowds.

Most of the hundreds of black-uniformed police with helmets and shields stood in lines and did nothing as soccer fans chased each other, some wielding sharp objects and others hurling sticks and rocks.

Security officials said the ministry has issued directives for its personnel not to "engage" with civilians after recent clashes between police and protesters in November left more than 40 people dead.

But as much as there were fans chanting "down with military rule" there were others who were loath to involve politics in what they felt was a football-related incident. Scuffles between the two sets of fans have often broken out before.

One man gathered at the stadium shouted to the throng: "There has always been trouble between al-Ahly and al-Masry, why bring politics into it?" Another said, "If you want to chant slogans against the military, go to Tahrir Square." Thousands of fans marched towards the Ramsis train station to receive the injured that were coming back from Port Said. Activists quickly scheduled rallies for Thursday outside the headquarters of the interior ministry in Cairo to protest against the inability of the police to stop the bloodshed.

In Port Said, residents marched early Thursday, denouncing the violence and saying it was a conspiracy by the military and police to cause chaos.

Army tanks and armored vehicles joined police patrolling near hospitals and morgues. Police were not to be seen in the streets after the violence and were unavailable to break up fights that followed.The tension also spread to the nearby Suez province. About 500 protesters, including soccer fans and activists, gathered outside the main police headquarters to protest what they called police negligence.

A security official said the police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to reporters.

Scaf head Field Marshall Hussain Tantawi also ominously said: "People know the ones responsible for the events in Port Said, and should not let them get away with it," without elaborating, but promised to find those responsible.

There is a historic rivalry between al-Ahly and al-Masry, and matches are always heated.

Clubs from across the country have always felt that Egypt's premier club al-Ahly and it's Cairene counterpart Zamalek have been favoured for being the capital clubs. Between the two, they have swept the majority of league titles and cups.The events of the match also affected a match taking place at Cairo stadium between Zamalek and al-Ismailiya. Zamalek coach Hassan Shehata decided at halftime that his players would not continue the match. This caused discontent in the stands and a section of the stadium was set alight by irate fans.