Rabaa was massacre against Egypt’s police: says activist

Cairo – Muslim Brotherhood used dispersal of their sit-in orchestrated in Rabaa Al- Adawiya Square to promote false propaganda over the torture and murder of demonstrators to embarrass the Egyptian regime and to push the international community to  pressure the government to allow them return to the political arena.

Egyptian activist Dalia Ziada wrote a number of reports that discussed the violations committed by Muslim Brotherhood during their sit-in. She stressed, during her dialogue with “Sout Al-Umma” newspaper, that Brotherhood promoted their lies to achieve political gains.

How do you see the Brotherhood’s attempts to promote what they described as “massacre” at Rabaa Al-Adawiya square?

Muslim Brotherhood called supporters for mass protests at Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Nahda squares not to express their opinions, while to use violence against the opponents who rallied in the Egyptian streets against Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi. After Morsi’s fall, they resumed their sit-in to gain international support. They claimed that their protests were peaceful, while they used weapons against the residents of the areas in which they rallied.

Some residents of Rabaa Al-Adawiya square and its surrounding streets claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood tortured them, How do you see these claims?

This is a fact. Leaders of Muslim Brotherhood incited violence against not only the state institutions but also the people. The group’s use of violence pushed the security forces to interfere and to disperse the sit-in. The Egyptian authorities took the necessary measures to avoid any violence with protesters. The security forces launched warnings and provided safe passages to allow protesters leave the square, while the Brotherhood refused to respond and opened the fire on security forces.

Why did Muslim Brotherhood’s leaders describe what happen in Rabaa as a massacre?

Yes, there was a massacre, while this massacre carried out against the security forces. Hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been murdered by the group’s militants whether during dispersal of their protest in Rabaa Al-Adawiya or during the demonstrations launched by the group’s members against police stations in all over the country.

International organizations condemned Rabaa dispersal and described it as a crime against humanity, why?

Morsi’s regime was strongly supported by a number of rich countries, including Qatar. The governments of these countries paid large amounts of money to buy the leaders of these organizations to publish such reports and to promote the Brotherhood’s lies. Sources said that these organizations received large amounts of money from Qatari businessperson and Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party to promote what happened in Rabaa as a humanitarian crisis.

Why did they turn to these organizations?

These organizations enjoy a big history in humanitarian work and enjoy high-degree of credibility.

Do you think that Muslim Brotherhood succeeded to achieve the goals of their propaganda?

In the beginning, they managed to attract the attention of decision makers in a number of western countries, while they failed to convince them of their false claims. The group failed to exert pressure on the Egyptian regime to return them to the political arena.