Egyptian Pro-Democracy Rallies to Condemn Bloodshed

Egyptians Pro-Democracy will hold rallies Saturday in cities across Canada to protest the bloodshed in Egypt in the largest state-led massacre in that country’s history.

Thousands of people were killed in Cairo on Wednesday when security and military forces moved to crush a peaceful sit-in “using machine guns, snipers, AK-47 and M16 rifles and were firing into the crowd” according to Sky News.

A large rally will be held in Toronto (Saturday, August 17, 3:00 p.m. at Queen’s Park) with an expected attendance of over 1000 Canadians. The rallies are to condemn the bloodshed and call upon the international community to act promptly to prevent further bloodshed.  Canadians are calling on our government to press the United Nations to hold the Mansour regime accountable for human rights violations and crime against humanity.

Background

The massacre is only the latest in a series of brutal assaults by the military-installed government. Both Egyptian and foreign mediators have said that there were several proposals for a peaceful resolution but that all these proposals had been rejected by the military. Analysts have concluded that the military is determined to crush the opposition.

President Mohamed Morsi is the first freely elected leader in the history of Egypt. He was elected in June 2012 in the run-off round of presidential elections held eighteen months after a popular revolt ended a sixty year military dictatorship. On July 3, 2013, Egypt’s Minister of Defense placed him and a group of aides under military detention in an unspecified location. The coup leader also announced that he had suspended the country’s constitution and named Adli Mansour, the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, as interim president with unlimited executive and legislative powers. Mr. Mansour had only come into his position three days earlier upon the retirement of his predecessor and had not yet been sworn in.

Canada is one of the few major democracies that bluntly called Egypt’s political convulsion last month for what it was: A military coup that deposed Mohammed Morsi, a duly elected president. Canada must also be one of the first to speak out and condemn the crimes committed by the Mansour Regime and the Egyptian Military.

About Egyptians Pro-Democracy

Egyptians Pro-Democracy is a coalition of Egyptian Canadians and Egyptians living in Canada who have come together to demand the return of Egypt’s democracy and its elected government.

Contact:

Ahmed Elemam
akncanada@gmail.com
647-527-8124
Ahmad Attia
Ahmad.attia@gmail.com
647-292-5049