Katatni: People Entitled to Demonstrate, Protest peacefully Anywhere

Dr. Mohamed Saad Katatni, Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assembly (PA), on Thursday held a joint meeting with four parliamentary committees on defense and national security, human rights, health, and youth.

“Whilst it is the right of every Egyptian citizen to protest, it is the duty of security forces to protect the demonstrators, and defend their lives against attackers, saboteurs and infiltrators”, Dr. Katatni said.

Dr. Katatni stressed that the tragic events of the Abbassiya sit-in will not go unpunished, adding: “The government and its various authorities and bodies take responsibility for these events.

“Egypt is passing through a difficult, critical phase, where the people are looking forward to the peaceful transfer of power, on June 30. But, suddenly, contrived crises cause chaos and mayhem, causing concern and panic for every Egyptian and distracting public opinion away from the main point: the presidential election, on time, as scheduled.”

Katatni expressed his anger that blood of the Egyptians is spilt, especially by Egyptians, saying: “This is totally unacceptable, and it demonstrates the inability of the Ministry of Interior to safeguard the lives of peaceful protesters”.

The Speaker of the PA affirmed that parliament is following the massacre closely, adding that delegations of MPs have been to the scene, and documented the total inability of authorities to contain the incident.

“Parliament will never let down the citizens of Egypt, will always fight for the right to peaceful protest, and will hold to task the negligent persons or authorities which did not do their duty during the events of this tragic incident.”

Meanwhile, General Maher Murad, Deputy Director of Cairo Security for the Northern District, reviewed the tragic Abbassiya events that resulted in human and material losses in the vicinity of the Ministry of Defense.

During the joint session, General Murad pointed that residents of Abbassiya district have been negatively impacted by the presence of the protestors, especially their business interests.

He further pointed that there are security services around the Department of Defense, to secure important facilities in the region, such as Ain Shams University and Hospital.

A number of lawmakers warned of the impending handover of power scheduled for the end of June, adding that a lot of events may be expected, e.g. sabotage attempts, arson and assaults.

Moreover, MPs criticized the discrepancy in data on casualties between the Ministries of Interior and Health, saying that while one has declared there are only 11 martyrs, the other claims there are many more than that.