“Port Said Massacre” Ignites a Political Crisis

On Wednesday night, a soccer match between the local Port Said team and the Cairo-based Ahly erupted in violence; 74 rioters were killed and hundreds injured in the fighting. Egypt’s parliament convened an emergency session on Thursday to discuss the so-called “Port Said Massacre,” and held Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim responsible for the violence. Others called for the parliament to hold a no-confidence vote for the military-appointed government of Prime Minister Kamal Al Ganzouri, even though the interim constitution does not give the People’s Assembly that authority. Demonstrators laid blame on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), and thousands marched on Cairo’s Interior Ministry Friday calling for an immediate handover to a civilian government. Members of parliament from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party (FJP) also intensified their criticism of Egypt’s government but stopped short of directly blaming the SCAF. FJP Leader Essam Al Erian presented the signatures of 120 lawmakers who demanded that charges be filed against the interior minister.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Matt Bradley argues that “the widening dissatisfaction with military rule stands to benefit the Brotherhood,” because the FJP is “trying and wrest control of the constitutional drafting process from the SCAF.” James Dorsey counters in Foreign Policy that the riots “will likely strengthen the hand of those in the ruling military council,” and that the growing fatigue of violence means “the Egyptian people will be with them.” Remarking on the recent elections for Egypt’s upper house of parliament, the Shoura Council, Steven Cook argues that in the era of former President Hosni Mubarak the Council was set up to ensure the ruling National Democratic Party’s control and to give government policy legislative legitimacy. The new Egyptian constitution, Cook writes, “should either empower the Shura Council or just abolish it outright.”